AN OUTLAW OF THE AIR 137 



were soaring in wonderful circles, soon to be out of 

 sight in the blue of heaven. We met the keeper at 

 the appointed spot, left our luggage at the little road- 

 side inn, and we were soon on our way to search for 

 the raven, the first of five memorable days which 

 were spent in this mountainous district. 



Ravens always place their nests in such a position 

 that the morning sun shines upon them, and thus it 

 is generally useless to search among rocks which do 

 not face east or south-east. After a walk of about 

 two miles, we saw a pair of ravens circling over their 

 haunt, and a nest was found apparently not yet 

 ready for eggs. This we afterwards discovered was 

 a dummy, and never meant to contain eggs. The 

 raven, I believe, always makes two nests, and if any 

 intruder approaches, the birds are often seen settling 

 near or flying over the unused one. Time after time 

 we saw a raven sitting on a rock immediately over 

 a dummy nest, his black form outlined in sharp 

 profile against the sky. At last we discovered his 

 little ruse, and found that all the time the hen was 

 sitting on one egg in a genuine nest near by. This 

 was well concealed, and there was every probability 

 of the one egg being hatched. We did not discover 

 it until the day before leaving. 



We toiled over hills and through valleys, explored 

 many gorges and dingles on that first day, until 

 about one o'clock we saw one of the great birds 



