RAVEN 



shepherds, and others who have lived their lives in the bird's 

 haunts, which go far to show that the Raven will not touch a 

 sheep or lamb while life remains in it. I was rather severely 

 criticised for mentioning this fact in my last book, but I have 

 never yet met a man who could prove that the Raven will attack 

 a living lamb. On the contrary, the Carrion Crow will tear the 

 eyes out of any sheep if it should happen to sicken, and on the 

 Welsh hills I have often seen this work of the Crow. The latter 

 bird is far more vicious than the Raven, and the ignorant often 

 put down his mischief to his larger but less malicious relative. 



My photograph was obtained in a bleak Welsh dingle, after 

 one of the most interesting, exciting, and difficult stalking feats 

 I have ever performed. Bird photographers sometimes have red- 

 letter days, and this was certainly one of mine. After climbing 

 cautiously for hours up and down a loose, steep slate cliff, where 

 one really had to test every foothold before moving forward, and 

 where any sudden movement or noise would have scared my 

 sitter away, I, at last, almost exhausted, and with dry, parched 

 lips, found myself near enough to expose a plate ; and when at 

 last I heard the welcome click of the shutter and knew that after 

 many years of fruitless trying, I had photographed this wild, 

 wary bird, my joy knew no bounds ; and when, later in the day, I 

 succeeded in obtaining a fine series of living pictures of him with 

 my kinematograph, I really believe I was far and away the 

 happiest person it would have been possible to find in the 

 Principality. 



The Welsh Ravens are very badly persecuted by collectors, 

 and one man, during the past five years, has been responsible for 

 the destruction of dozens of clutches of their eggs. He has not 

 only taken the eggs himself, but has introduced numbers of his 

 collecting friends into the locality, and the result now is that the 

 place is infested by these men, who are not content with one 



73 P 



