RSNA 
676 RAVEN. 
offal; = and the huntsmen are obliged to cover their game, when it is 
Jeft in the woods, with their hunting frocks, to protect it from this 
thievish connoisseur, who, if he have an opportunity, will attack the 
region of the kidneys, and mangle the saddle without ceremony. 
Buffon says, that “the Raven plucks out the eyes of buffaloes, and 
then fixing on the back, it tears off the flesh deliberately ; and what ren- 
ders the ferocity more detestable, it is not incited by the cravings of 
hunger, but by the appetite for carnage; for it can subsist on fruits, 
seeds of all kinds, and indeed may be considered as an omnivorous 
animal.” ‘Phis is mere fable, and of a piece with many other absurd- 
ities of the same romancing author. 
This species is found almost all over the habitable globe. We trace 
it in the north from Norway to Greenland, and hear of it in Kamts- 
chatka. It is common every where in Russia and Siberia, except 
within the Arctic Circle;+ and all through Europe. Kolben enume- 
rates the Raven among the birds of the Cape of Good Hope;{ De 
Grandpré represents it as numerous in Bengal, where they are said to 
be protected for their usefulness ;{ and the unfortunate La Pérouse 
saw them at Baie de Castries, on the east coast of Tartary; likewise 
at Port des Francois, 58° 37’ north latitude, and 139° 50’ west longi- 
tude; and at Monterey Bay, North California.]| The English circum- 
navigators met with them at Nootka Sound,f and at the Sandwich 
Islands, two being seen in the village of Kakooa; also at Owhyhee, 
and supposed to be adored there, as they were called Eatooas.** Our 
intrepid American travellers, under the command of Lewis and Clark, 
shortly after they embarked on the Columbia River, saw abundance of 
Ravens, which were attracted thither by the immense quantity of dead 
salmon which lined the shores.tt They are found, at all seasons, at 
Hudson’s Bay ; {{ are frequent in Mexico ; §§ and it is more than prob- 
able that they inhabit the whole continent of America. 
The Raven measures, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, 
twenty-six inches, and is four feet in extent; the bill is large and 
strong, of a shining black, notched near the tip, and three inches long; 
the setaceous feathers which cover the nostrils extend half its length; 
the eyes are black; the general color is a deep glossy black, with 
steel blue reflections; the lower parts are less glossy; the tail is 
rounded, and extends about two inches beyond the wings; the legs 
are two inches and a half in length, and, with the feet, are strong and 
black; the claws are long. 
This bird is said to attain to a great age ; and its plumage to be sub- 
ject to change from the influence of years and of climate. It is found 
in Iceland and Greenland entirely white. 
The Raven was the constant attendant of Lewis and Clark’s party 
* This is the case in those parts of the United States where the deer are hunted 
sation dogs ; where these are employed, they are generally rewarded with the 
offal. : 
+ LatHam. ¢ Mepey’s Kolben, vol. ii. p. 136. 
t Voyage in the Indian Ocean, p. 148. 
|| Voy. par IL. F. G. De La Perouse, ii. p. 129, 203, 443. 
T Cooxk’s Last Voy. ii. p. 236. Am. ed. 
** Idem, iii. p. 329. tt Gass’s Journal, p. 153. 
tt Cuarcevorx. Karim. Herarve’s Journey. §§ FernanDEz. 
