LXIX. 

 COKVrS CORAX. (mnn.) 



K W KN. 



The Raven, which, a few years ago, used to breed in old 

 ruins, and even in some of our church steeples, is now only 

 to be met with far removed from man's dwelling place, lead- 

 ing a solitary and persecuted life ; it is, in consequence, one 

 of the shyest and most wary birds in this country. In Nor- 

 way, on the contrary (as I have before noticed with regard 

 to the Magpie), where persecution is unknown, they so 

 abound, that we at one time counted as many as eighteen to- 

 gether ; there they are pert and confident, and would frequently 

 remain quietly seated till we had passed them at the distance 

 of a few yards. 



The Raven breeds in the most wild and inaccessible dis- 

 tricts which this country affords, building its nest upon ledges 

 of steep and lofty cliffs ; it is large, and composed of sticks 

 matted together with mud, and lined with a quantity of roots, 

 wool, and the fur of animals : it is one of the earliest breed- 

 ers amongst our feathered tribes, and frequently rears its 

 young ones under some of our most inclement skies ; its eggs 

 are four or five in number. For a fine series of specimens 

 from which those figured in the plate are selected, I am in- 

 debted to Charles-Whaley Spurgeon, Esq., of Lynn, Norfolk. 

 Fig. 1 .is the most characteristic of the species, although va- 

 rieties resembling Fig. 2 are by no means unfrequent. 



