222 Corvidce. 



And now I come to speak of the Ravens of Wiltshire, of 

 which I have made careful inquiry in every part of the county, 

 and about which I have derived a great deal of valuable informa- 

 tion, negative as well as positive, from no less than one hundred 

 and ten correspondents whom I have invaded with questions, and 

 whom I heartily thank for the courtesy and ready kindness with 

 which they have replied to me. It will be seen that the history 

 of the Ravens of Wiltshire is, alas ! rather a history of that which 

 is past and gone than of that which is flourishing to-day. So 

 persecuted, shot down, trapped, and despoiled of their young 

 have these noble birds been at the hands of ruthless gamekeepers 

 and others, who have gone upon the false issue that they are very 

 destructive to game, whereas, with the exception of an occasional 

 raid on a leveret or a rabbit, they do little harm in the preserves, 

 for the Raven cannot bear an enclosed district he must have 

 plenty of room to wander over, a wide extent of open ground on 

 which to disport himself ; and as to being ' cabin'd, cribb'd, con- 

 fin'd ' within narrow woods, he eschews them altogether, and only 

 during the breeding season will he consent to occupy some big 

 tree in the park, generally the highest and most inaccessible lie 

 can find, and there he and his mate return, year after } T ear, to 

 occupy their accustomed nursery. I proceed now to enumerate 

 the localities which, earlier or later, Ravens have been known to 

 occupy, and some few of which they occupy still. 



Wilton Park. I am informed by Lord Pembroke that the 

 Ravens are building this year (1887), as they have done during 

 the last four years, in a tall fir-tree in the low ground in WilU n 

 Park : they moved to this tree from another group of firs about 

 three hundred yards away. It was about six years ago that 

 they came to the park ; but the old people say that they used 

 to build there regularly, and an old groom was accustomed to 

 relate how the peregrine falcons for some time nested in the 

 park as well, and how the Ravens drove them away. At the 

 present time it is interesting to watch the Ravens during 

 the nesting season as they harry the herons flying home in the 

 evening. In Wilton Park the Ravens are carefully preserved ; 



