RAVEN. 537 



we did not see her again ; but the cock instantly flew down towards us 

 with a menacing bark to give us battle. We were well acquainted with 

 his comiDlacent pruk, pruk, as he used to sail over the valley in his daily 

 rambles ; but this was an angry hoarse growl. The nest had been fre- 

 quently robbed ; and he had grown bold from experience. We were soon 

 at the foot of the tree, and, throwing a line over the lowest available 

 bough, were soon in a position whence we could ascend further, aided by 

 our hands and feet. The nest was at an immense height ; and as we drew 

 nearer to it the Raven became bolder, and we had to stop occasionally and 

 menace him. At times he must have been within a few yards of us, sailing 

 from one tree to another, and darting at us as he passed. At last we 

 reached the nest — a large structure of twigs of many years' accumulation, 

 verv compact, and very difficult to reach round. It was built almost at 

 the top of the tree, in a fork at the end of a bough, and ia a position not 

 very safe to hold on by. With care, cap between our teeth to keep our 

 friend off, we got one hand over the nest, and could just balance ourself 

 sufficiently to look over its edge. There to our delight, on the lining of 

 sheep's wool and fine fibre, rather deep down, lay three fresh eggs, just 

 like the ones in the second figure of Hewitson's third edition. By great 

 care, and by keeping the bird at bay with our handkerchief, we succeeded 

 in getting them safely down. We slowly retired as we came, the cock 

 bird tearing off the twigs and driving us before him, with ruffled feathers, 

 savage barks, and short menacing sallies ; and it Was not until we were 

 some little distance from his nesting-place that we really felt out of danger. 

 At this lapse of time we confess our robljery seems rather cruel ; but never 

 shall we forget our visit to the ' Raven's tree.' " 



The eggs of the Raven are from four to six in number, five being not an 

 unusual clutch. In colour and markings they do not difl'er from those of 

 the Carrion-Crow and the Rook, and go through the same variations as the 

 eggs of those birds. They are bluish green or greenish brown in ground- 

 colour, more or less thickly marked with dark olive-brown. In some 

 si3ecimeus the markings are very sparse ; in others so thick as often to 

 hide the ground-colour. Certain varieties have the colour confined to a 

 few streaks of yellowish brown, whilst others are sparingly blotched with 

 rich greenish brown (almost black), intermingled with greyish underlying 

 spots. A rare and beautiful variety of the Raven's egg is sometimes 

 obtained reddish white in ground-colour, spotted with rich reddish brown 

 and splashed with violet-grey. This type of egg closely resembles certain 

 varieties of those of the Moorhen, and also approaches very closely in colour 

 to the eggs of a South-African Crow, C capensis. In size and shape 

 Raven's eggs vary considerably, some specimens being quite undistinguish- 

 able from eggs of the Carrion-Crow. They vary in length from .2-1 to 

 V7 inch, and in breadth from 1-4 to 1-25 inch. 



