VOL. xiv] NOTES ON SOMERSETSHIRE RAVENS 27 



powers : he was evidently calling his mate, and perched where 

 he was, on the top of the wind rock, must have been audible 

 miles away. She came in at 4 p.m., flying straight to the 

 newly started nest, and followed closely by her mate. From 

 below I could hear bubbling notes as of pleasure, much like 

 the cooing of the Turtle-Dove, but rather louder and stronger 

 and differing from the bubbling or musical notes which both 

 birds utter occasionally. 



Afterwards just a little nest -building was undertaken, and 

 then at 4.30 p.m. both settled for the night, touching each 

 other, on the branch of a deciduous shrub near the cliff top 

 facing N.W. I cannot imagine why they should have chosen 

 to roost in such an open situation, in the teeth of a piercing 

 north wind and sleet, when so many sheltered nooks were 

 near. Other spots were selected at times, one was quite 

 a sheltered position farther up the road, between two fifty- 

 foot cliffs and about 400 yards from the nest. This was 

 occupied for many nights in succession, one of the birds 

 always flying out over the road and in again the very last 

 thing to see that all was safe. 



When building, both birds often arrived at the nest together 

 carrjdng the requisite materials. Each in turn hopped in and 

 placed its burden, perhaps a stick, a lump of moss, wool, 

 grass, lea\'es or rabbits' fur, as the case might be, and turning 

 round and round w^orked hard at forming the cup-like portion 

 of the structure ; sometimes the male would not wait, but 

 simply dropped his stick to the female or she took it directly 

 from his beak. No live sticks were used in its composition, 

 although there were plenty of small trees available, such 

 as rowan, whitebeam, ash, as well as evergreens, yew and 

 holly. Many stems of gorse were carried, and quite two- 

 thirds were picked, up from amongst the ivy growing on the 

 headland above an old quarry on the opposite side. 



As they went to and fro, both used the rippling musical 

 notes, and another favourite note was, " Wort, wort, wort," 

 uttered quickly two, three, and four times. I may here 

 mention the tumbling antics of both — when the bird turns 

 completely over on its back from a side movement, drifts 

 along thus, and resumes its former position. Once both 

 birds pitched close to each other, and for twenty minutes 

 the male Avas in a very amorous mood ; he persistently and 

 gently stroked his male on the mouth, around the eye and 

 the side of the head, both meanwhile bowing their heads as 

 ducks do ; then he gently pecked again the side of her face, 

 and suddenly attempted coition. She resented this behaviour 



