THE LONGEVITY OF THE RAVEN 421 



could not have stated that the age of the bird was sixty, at 

 the time he gave it away to his friend, unless he had con- 

 vinced himself of its truth ; and I have the testimony of 

 several witnesses that it lived for at least twenty years after 

 that, under the care of its new owner. It began to lay 

 eggs, as I have stated in the text, at the mature age of 

 eighty, a great feat, one would think, even for a raven. I 

 have given, in pages 156-159, what I think to be the most 

 probable explanation of the general belief in the longevity 

 of the raven, and have pointed out how far, in my opinion, 

 it is founded on facts. 



