DORSET COAST 85 



Cornwall, of Devon, and of Dorset. In a walk of 

 a moderate length along the Cornish coast from the 

 Lizard, I have watched three pairs of ravens busy 

 about their nests. I have seen and heard of them 

 repeatedly on the splendid stretch of coast, including 

 Bolt Head and Bolt Tail, which runs between 

 Thurlestone and Salcombe in South Devon ; while, 

 in a rather longer walk along the coast of Dorset, 

 from Whitenose Cliff to St Alban's Head, I have 

 known at least four pairs of ravens rearing or trying 

 to rear their young. Swyre Head would hardly be 

 Swyre Head, Gad Cliff would hardly be Gad Cliff 

 Studland, where they are strictly preserved by its 

 owner, would hardly be Studland without its pair 

 of ravens, and without also, I am glad to add, the 

 hereditary friends or foes of the ravens, a pair of 

 peregrine falcons. 



I say they try to rear their young ; for while the 

 old birds generally take good enough care of them- 

 selves and keep just out of the range of shot, the 

 heavy-bodied young, when, at last, they begin to 

 bestir themselves, often flutter down from their nest, 

 hidden as it is beneath an overhanging rock, on to 

 the more accessible ledges, or even to the beach 

 below, where they may easily be captured. The 

 price they fetch, owing to their unique attractions as 



