230 NUimi AMERICAN imiDS. 



Big Island, IMr. Clarke at Fort Ifae, Mr. Lockliart at Fort Resolution, and 

 Mr. Dall at Xulato, in Alaska. 



Ificliiirdson sjjoaks oi' it as abounding iu the I'ur countries, where it fre- 

 (^uents the barren grounds even iu the intense winter cold, and where its 

 movements .are regulatetl by those of reindeer, musk-oxen, and other ani- 

 mals, which it follows, to assist in devouring whatever may be killed. 

 Kavens are sen^n to collect from various (juarters wherever any animal is 

 slain, in order to feast on the olfal, and considerable numbers are in constant 

 attendance upon tlie several fishing-stations. lie mentions a singular 

 instance of the disijosition of this bird to apiirojiriate glittering objects of 

 no value to it for food or anything cicic. A liaven was seen Hying off 

 with something iu its claws, ])ursued by a nundier of its clamorous com- 

 panions. Having been fired at, it dropped the object of contention, which 

 jjroved to be the lock of a cliest. 



Mr. MacFarlane's notes in regard to the nesting of these birds describe cer- 

 tain variations as to position, etc. One nest was on a ledge of a cliff of .shale, 

 and was comi)osed of dry willow sticks, lined with jneces of ralil)it skin and 

 the hair of moo.se. Botli parents were .seen, — one on the nest, the other 

 on a tree, ■ — l>ut both flew away on being approached. A second nest was in 

 the toi) crotch of a tall pine on the river-bank. It was made of dry sticks, 

 and tinckly lined with reindeer hair. Thc:e were eiglit eggs in tiiis nest. 

 A third was in -^ tall pine, and was forty-five feet from the ground. Tt was 

 constructed in a manner precisely similar to the i)receding. A fourth was 

 on the top of a tall pine, and only diifered in having been lined with dry 

 grass, moss, and a few reindeer hairs. Tlie other nests apju-ar to have been 

 similarly situated and constructed. Nearly ail were in high trees, built of 

 dry sticks, and lined with dry grasses, mos.ses, and the hair of various ijuad- 

 rupeds. The ma.ximum inimber of eggs was eiglit, their average si.x. 



Mr. MacFarlane states tliat tiie Haven is found throughout the winter in 

 the Arctic regions, and that, though lie has met with it north of latitude 09°, 

 he has never known it to l)reed north of tluxt line. He informs us that it is 

 seldom that more tlian a single pair is to l)e .seen at a time, and occasionally 

 tiiey may be noted singly, Hying alone, or feeding on garbage. Sometimes 

 a dead fox or wolf will attract qnite a numlKir to the s])ot. On one occasion 

 he oliscrved as many as twenty IJavens amicably associated together around 

 the carcasses of two wolves that had Iteen poisoned with strychnine. In 

 many ca.ses he has known tlie partaking of a jioisoned atiimal prove fatal 

 to them, as also the eating of bait laid for i'oxes and wolves. 



According to this same corres])ondent, one of these birds became almost 

 domesticated at Fort Anderson, during Fela'uary and ^larch, 1 Hd"). At first it 

 fed about tht> fort witli acom])anion ; soon after, coming alone, it grew l)older 

 and bolder, aliglited within the s(juare, allowed itself to be closely approached, 

 where tlie young dogs soon became familiar with it, an<l would even frolic 

 nnd gand)ol witii it, the IJaven joining heartily in the s])ort in its own way. 



