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its wings was scarcely perceptible. But more marked than all was the contrast of its outline. 

 Its depth of wing, not only long but very broad, till its secondaries appeared to reach almost to 

 the end of its tail, and its short broad tail extending to twice the width of the other, made it 

 appear to cover double the surface its companions did, and we at once named it the Fantail 

 Raven. But its note was the richest, most powerful, and most musical that ever Raven uttered. 

 No croak, but a long-sustained cheery cry which decidedly belied its relationship. Mr. Shepherd 

 was ready to forego the ascent of Sebbeh for the chance of the prize ; and though certainly we 

 would not for all the Ravens of the East have missed the wondrous ruins of Masada and the 

 superb panorama from its summit, it was with a feeling of envy that on our return we found the 

 coveted treasure had at length rewarded his patience ; and we handled the miniature Raven, 

 hoping we had made an ornithological discovery. Every thing about him bespeaks the Raven, 

 and not the Crow — the short conical massive bill, the long wings, and the uniform rich violet 

 reflexion of his plumage surpassing those of every other species. 



" It was long before we met with him again. During our sojourn near Jebel Usdum we 

 constantly saw both the Common and the Brown-necked Ravens, which perched continually on 

 the salt-cliffs, though what, save a love of desolation, could have brought them there it was hard 

 to guess ; but no other species could we discover. More than one fell a victim to the rifle-practice 

 of my companions ; for they afforded a tempting mark as they sat on the glittering salt-peaks. 

 At length we crossed to the east side, not, however, to meet, as we had hoped, a kindly welcome 

 from the Ghawarineh inhabitants of the rich oasis of Safieh, below Kerak, but to find the 

 smoking embers of a plundered village, strewn with the corpses of the combatants in a recent 

 battle. Thus prematurely our hopes of the richest ornithological harvest in the country were 

 foiled. A few varieties we secured during the afternoon ; but, encumbered with human prisoners, 

 for our men had captured more than a dozen, and knowing that the enemy was lurking in the 

 woods, of which the whole district is full, the keenest ornithologist might be excused if he 

 reserved his second barrel for a bullet, and declined to wander far from camp. We had nothing 

 for it but to pitch our tents for the night with what heart we might, and to beat a retreat in the 

 morning. But we could spare two or three hours, and with the dawn we began to look after 

 the birds, which abound in the Safieh to an extent unequalled even in the oases of Jericho. 

 ' Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the Eagles be gathered together,' and the Ravens also ; 

 for the sun was not above the horizon when a steady stream of carrion-eaters, who had scented 

 the battle from afar, began to set in from the south. All the Vultures, Kites, and Ravens of 

 North Arabia seemed to be rushing to the banquet. Against them we perpetrated a regular 

 battue on their way to their uncleanly feast. We brought down more specimens than we could 

 carry away of the three species of Raven — the Common, the Brown-necked, and four good 

 specimens of our long-sought Fantail, C. affinis. The Vultures and Kites sailed too high, out of 

 reach of our shot. Had we not been compelled to leave, we might doubtless have stood among 

 the trees, and, with the human bait before us, have continued our warfare throughout the day. 

 After this we never saw our new friend again ; for the south end of the Dead Sea appears his 

 northern limit ; nor did we ever meet with C. uinbrinus north of Jerusalem, not even in the 

 upper part of the Jordan valley. Neither does it ever descend to the coast, where C. corax 

 alone is found." 



