218 Wild Life in Wales 



were hunting rabbits amongst the scrub. Presently the 

 Ravens were flying at no great height above the trees, 

 evidently interested in the doings of the dogs ; and when 

 the latter started a rabbit, and went yapping up the bank in 

 pursuit of it, their interest was visibly increased. Leaving 

 the scrub, and making for the rocks above, the rabbit was 

 so unfortunate as to run into a trap. Its squeals quickly 

 attracted the attention of the collies, and they were hasten- 

 ing towards it, when the Ravens lurched down from above 

 with such threatening cries, that the dogs turned tail and 

 fled homewards, apparently in the belief that it was a human 

 voice that was rating them. Perhaps they were troubled 

 with the poacher's conscience, to whom all sounds spell 

 alarm, and paid no particular heed to the language, but, be 

 that as it may, they left the birds masters of the situation. 

 The struggles of the rabbit, and the click of the trap, 

 distinctly audible where I sat, did not seem to disconcert 

 the birds in the least ; they appeared to realise perfectly 

 that its power of doing mischief was gone, and that it was 

 harmless to themselves, for they soon alighted beside it. 

 One of them then advanced, and dealing the poor rabbit a 

 dexterous blow on the head, silenced his screams for ever, 

 and the two proceeded to discuss the body without further 

 delay. There was no apparent jealousy between them as 

 to who should have the tit-bits, and in a surprisingly 

 short space of time all that remained of the victim were 

 its bones and a few scattered fragments of pelt ; while 

 the Ravens, after wiping their bills upon the grass, 

 again soared aloft, and disappeared, all unconscious of the 

 interested spectator who had all the time been sitting 

 within a few hundred yards of them on the opposite side 

 of the glen. 



The part which such birds as the Raven were designed to 

 fill in the great scheme of Nature, as a sort of general 

 scavengers, is rather apt to be overlooked in these latter 

 days, when the engineer undertakes such duties, and Acts 

 of Parliament seek to compel farmers to bury their dead ; 

 but the ridding of the country of all such carrion feeders, 

 while it may be for the general good, has often to be paid 



