24 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



When the young are hatched, the parent birds supply 

 their wants with most persevering attention, but when 

 old enough the parents drive them away, and they are 

 forced to provide for themselves. 



Ravens are partially migratory, the reason apparently 

 being want of food, though possibly the cold may affect 

 them, and induce them to seek warmer parts. 



Many are the anecdotes that have been related of the 

 Raven, most of them concerning those birds that have 

 been kept in confinement; for under the latter circum- 

 stances, or with clipped wings, the Raven is a droll fellow, 

 and is generally in conflict with the dog or cat, though 

 they sometimes set up a great friendship. The bird is 

 endowed with a passion for secretiveness quite as much as 

 the Magpie, and what it cannot eat is invariably hidden. 

 The principal reason, however, which has occasioned the 

 Raven to be made a pet is its marvellous power of 

 imitating the human voice, as also any other sound that 

 may particularly strike its ear. 



