25S cassell's BOOK of birds. 



of its family, they greet it with as noisy demonstrations of terror, as if the intruder were a Hawk or a. 

 Buzzard, and compel it at once to retire from amongst them. In its relations with man nothing can 

 exceed die prudence and wariness of the Raven, its fear of molestation being so strong as to compel 

 it even to desert its nestlings should an enemy approach, although its attachment to its offspring is 

 usually both warm and constant. The voice of this bird is varied, and its manner of chattering to 

 its mate during the period of incubation even more peculiar and incessant than that of the Magpie. 



In voracity tiie Raven has but few equals, for not only will it eat almost all kinds of food, 

 including fruit, corn, and every description of insect, but it will seize upon and devour creatures 

 exceeding itself in size, and attack not only almost any quadruped from a hare to a mouse, but boldly 

 engage the Seagulls in combat, when those birds seem inclined to dispute its right to invade their 

 nests and despoil them of their young. Boldness and cunning, strength and dexterity, all seem to be 

 united in the character of this daring marauder ; it will attack domestic fowls, ducks, or young geese, 

 and chase and destroy not only partridges, but hares and pheasants. In some parts of Ireland the 

 Raven may be seen picking up its food in the vicinity of houses in company with dogs and cats, or 

 prowling about on the sea-shore in search of fish. During the spring it destroys numbers of young 

 lambs, or amuses itself by driving Eider Ducks from their nests to devour their eggs, and when it has 

 satiated itself will conceal those that remain beneath the sand ; even horses are not free from the 

 attacks of these birds, which will settle upon the back of any wounded or suffering animal, and can 

 only be dislodged after long and violent efforts. Eagles they do not venture to contend with, but 

 follow in their wake in the hope of obtaining the remnants of their prey ; in short, nothing that can be 

 overcome by their strength, craft, or audacity is spared ; they will even, it is said, devour the aged or 

 nestlings belonging to their own species. We are assured that mussels form a part of the Raven's 

 diet, the bird having first carried them into the air, and let them fall from a considerable height, 

 to break their shells upon the rocks or stones beneath ; they will also eat the hermit crab, which is 

 obtained by rapping its shell until the unsuspecting creature creeps out to ascertain the cause of the 

 disturbance. Despite the cruel and rapacious disposition of these birds, their deeds are not always 

 deeds of evil ; on the contrary, great and valuable are some of the services they often render to man, 

 insomuch that by some nations they are regarded with the utmost favour — the Arabs, indeed, look 

 upon them with such superstitious reverence as to imagine them to be immortal, and in Greenland 

 and Iceland they are allowed to run tame about the houses. On the other hand, in the .Canary Islands 

 they are held in the. utmost detestation by the shepherds, who maintain that they constantly peck out 

 the eyes of young goats and lambs, and on this account wage an exterminating war against them. 



The eyrie of the Raven is generally situated in the hole of a rock, or the summit of a high and 

 inaccessibls tree ; it is usually about one foot deep, and from two to three feet wide ; the .exterior is 

 formed of small branches, lined with a layer of twigs, and the interior, which is about nine inches in 

 diameter, and four or five inches in depth, bedded with wool, fine grass, and similar materials, the utmost 

 caution being employed by these birds, both when seeking materials and when building the large and 

 strong cradle which year after year is resorted to for the purposes of incubation. The eggs, usually 

 four or five in number, are large, and of a green colour, marked with brown and grey spots. Ravens 

 are by no means deficient in care for their young, and labour incessantly to satisfy their ever-craving 

 beaks with ail kinds of animal food ; should fear compel them to quit their charge, they perch as 

 near the little family as safety will permit, and testify by plaintive cries and anxious flutterings their 

 desire to return to their brood. When fully fledged, the young do not entirely leave the nest, but 

 return every evening for some weeks, in order to pass the night in the snug warmth that it affords 

 them, and perhaps to receive instruction during the day, as to the means to be employed in obtaining 

 food ; they probably leave their protectors only when the autumn approaches. When tamed the 



