224 BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



young birds finding a ready sale, and at prices we 

 suppose sufficiently tempting to repay the risk. 

 We should not like to see the Raven banished 

 from the county, but the wanton destruction now 

 going on will have to be stopped, otherwise this 

 fine bird's day will eventually be over. Devon- 

 shire is one of the last great strongholds of the 

 Raven in England, and surely steps should be 

 taken to prevent the bird's utter extinction. As a 

 pet bird tjie Raven has ever been held in high 

 esteem, and we fear that this circumstance causes 

 many a nest to be robbed that might otherwise 

 have been left in peace. 



The Chough also deserves passing mention. 

 Formerly this handsome bird had many breeding 

 stations along the rocky portions of the Devon- 

 shire coast, but nowadays it is one of the rarest 

 and most local of the county's birds. We know 

 of no breeding station on the south coast, although 

 it is interesting to remark that eggs were found 

 as recently as 1880 on Berry Head, and local 

 specimens of the bird are in the museum at 

 Torquay. Whether the species will ever again 

 recover itself in the county seems doubtful, the 

 combination of adverse circumstances against 



