HUNTING — FISHING — WARS AND EXPEDITIONS. 2/ 



trouble him, thanks to his thick fleece of long hairs 

 which the sting cannot penetrate ; he makes his way 

 to the cells, rips them open, gorges himself with 

 honey, and causes such havoc that in Switzerland, in 

 certain yearS when these butterflies were abundant, 

 numbers of hives have been found absolutely empty.^ 

 Many other marauders and of larger size, such as the 

 Bear, also spread terror among these laborious insects 

 and empty their barns. No animal is more crafty 

 than the Raven, and the fabulist who wished to make 

 him a dupe was obliged to oppose to him the very 

 cunning Fox in order to render the tale fairly life-like. 

 A great number of stories are told concerning the 

 Raven's cleverness, and many of them are undoubtedly 

 true. There is no bolder robber of nests. He 

 swallows the eggs and eats the little ones of the 

 species who cannot defend themselves against him ; 

 he even seeks the eggs of Sea-gulls on the coast ; 

 but in this case he must use cunning, for if he is dis- 

 covered it means a serious battle. On the coast also 

 the Raven seeks to obtain possession of the Hermit- 

 crab. This Crustacean dwells in the empty shells of 

 Gasteropods. At the least alarm he retires within 

 this shell and becomes invisible, but the bird advances 

 with so much precaution that he is often able to seize 

 the crab before he has time to hide himself. If the 

 raven fails he turns the shell over and over until the 

 impatient crustacean allows a claw to emerge ; he is 

 then seized and immediately devoured. 



If there is a question of hunting larger game like a 

 Hare, the Raven prefers to take an ally. They start 

 him at his burrow and pursue him flying. In spite of 

 his proverbial rapidity the hare is scarcely able to 



' Huber, Nouvelles Observations sur les Abeilles, t. ii. p. 291. 



