THE RAVEN. 159 
soar high in air over the nest, uttering, besides their usual croak of alarm or 
anger, a curious sound, like the noise made by drawing a tightly fitting cork 
from a bottle, occasionally turning complete somersaults in the air, and making 
ferocious stoops in the direction of the invader, but always keeping well out of 
gunshot-range. For some time after the young Ravens leave the nest they roam 
in company with their parents, but soon separate and start off singly or in 
couples on marauding expeditions on their own account.” 
Although not strictly speaking a gregarious species, this bird when attracted 
by food often assembles in considerable numbers; when approaching a carcass it 
does not fly directly to it, but alights at a short distance and approaches it 
warily with heavy ungainly hops. Upon the wing it flaps heavily, but its flight 
nevertheless is powerful and tolerably rapid. 
The nest of the Raven is always bulky, though more so when built on 
ledges of rocks than when placed in trees; it consists of sticks, twigs, heather- 
stems, and sometimes a tangle of sheep’s wool. ‘The lining is of roots, grass, 
wool, fur, or other soft materials. The eggs number from four to six, frequently 
five; in ground-colour they usually vary from greenish-blue to olive-greenish 
more or less densely marked with deep olive-brown, the shell markings appearing 
frequently like smears or faint patches of the same colour (as if partly washed 
out); the pattern and character of the markings vary much as usual, sometimes 
the streaks and blotches are few and large, sometimes they are mingled with 
numerous smaller markings, sometimes again the small spots are so close together 
as to give a different tone to the egg; the depth of the markings also varies 
much, at times almost approaching black. Seebohm speaks of a variety of rare 
occurrence which is ‘ reddish-white in ground-colour, spotted with rich reddish- 
brown and splashed with violet-grey.’’ Of the examples represented on our plate 
figs. 229, 231, and 232 are from Mr. A. B. Farn’s collection; fig. 230 is one of 
a series of eggs collected some years since and given to me by my friend Dr. 
Vincent Blachford, who took them at Charlton, All Saints, near Salisbury. 
The commonest note of the Raven has been variously described as cruck, 
cruck, or pruck, pruck; to me it sounds like whurk, whurk; its note of rage has 
been described as ‘‘a menacing bark” and ‘“‘an angry hoarse growl.” 
The food consists of grain, berries, fruit, insects, worms, mollusca, reptiles, 
batrachians, eggs, young poultry and game, sickly lambs, rats, moles and carrion 
of all kinds. 
Mr. E. C. Phillips in a paper on the Birds of Breconshire (Zoologist 1882, 
Ppp. 45-46) says:—“ This bird lives to a great age. When a boy, in Wiltshire, I 
used to pay a visit—generally on a Sunday—to some friends that lived in a 
