304 corvidjK 



when their glossy plumage looked very beautiful." Their tame- 

 ness, I have no doubt, arose simply from their being unmolested, 

 perhaps in consequence of a belief among the country people, that 

 it is " unlucky " to kill a raven ; for this very pair of birds was 

 known to carry off eggs, young ducks, &c, from the nearest .farm- 

 yards. But, as is usual in such cases, one of the poor ravens, 

 thus putting its trust in man, was shot a few days afterwards by 

 a vagrant gunner. 



I have with much interest observed in the month of October, 

 about the fine basaltic cliffs of the Cave-lull, near Belfast, and long 

 after the breeding-season was past, that as evening set in, a few 

 ravens would appear together, hoarsely croaking about the rocks, 

 while at the same time hosts of jackdaws garrulously chattered, 

 and several kestrels, as they careered gracefully about in com- 

 pany, added their shrill voices. After some little time they all 

 retired to the rocks for the night. I have here remarked solitary 

 ravens utter notes in sound likes whe-ee-upp, the last syllable being 

 most guttural. 



On one occasion I had interesting evidence of the power of 

 sight in the raven. A nest of young rats, not more than three 

 or four days old, had been dug up in a stubble field, and after 

 being killed, were left there. Very soon afterwards, two or three 

 ravens passed over the place at a great height, and on coming 

 above the spot, dropped almost directly down upon them. The 

 young rats had not been ten minutes dead at the time, and conse- 

 quently could hardly have emitted any effluvium. Besides, they 

 were so small, that even had they given out any to the air, it 

 seems hardly possible that the odour could have ascended to the 

 great elevation at which the birds had been. Sight alone, I con- 

 ceive, must in this instance have been the guiding sense. 



Mr. R. Davis, junr., of Clonmel, remarks, that ravens, if taken 

 young, can be reared so as not to injure other birds, as he " for a 

 long time kept in one cage a raven, a hooded crow, a jackdaw, a 

 magpie, and a jay, all of which lived on good terms with each 

 other." Mr. R. Ball communicates the following anecdote of 

 this species. — "When a boy at school, a tame raven was very 



