79 



extensively distributed, and consisting of birds of consider- 

 able size, and generally of dark and unobtrusive colours ; 

 they are bold, courageous, and wary, and some of them live 

 in societies. When domesticated, they approach the Parrot 

 in their power of imitating the human voice. 



THE RAVEN. Corvus corax. The largest of European 

 perching birds and the most powerful species of the present 

 group, the Raven is really an imposing bird in its appearance. 

 It is distributed in wild and sequestered stations throughout 

 Britain. It feeds little on grain ; but the eggs of birds and 

 the young of animals are sought after and devoured by it. 

 The Raven is destructive to the newly-dropped lambs and 

 to weakly sheep, and hence the persecution which arises to 

 it from shepherds. Steep cliffs and lofty trees are its 

 breeding-places, in the most wild and inaccessible districts; 

 and in such situations the nest, formed of an immense mass 

 of sticks cemented with mud, and lined with roots, wool, 

 and the fur of animals, is placed. The Raven is one of our 

 earliest breeders, commencing, in a mild season, in February. 

 The eggs, four or five in number, are of a pale-greenish 

 colour, varied with brown markings. (PL 1Y. fig. 16.) 



THE CARRION CROW. Corvus cor one. The British spe- 

 cies of the present family next in size and strength to the 



