The Raven 



of hilarious freshmen. And ever and anon came the deep hunger oope 

 cry, interspersed with many sharp, crow-like caws. One mellow note, 

 which might have been purely individual, reminded me strikingly of the 

 callnote of the Sandhill Crane. 



Best of all was the game of tag [No, this is not nature-faking ; I had 



Taken in Los Angeles County 



Photo by the A uthor 



RAVENS AT PLAY 



8-power binoculars]. One bird appeared with a yellow something in 

 his talons; it might have been cheese, but probably it wasn't. The 

 owner did not seem to want to eat it, for he courted pursuit by coming 

 back ever and again close to the appointed tag-post. Finally, another 

 bird did succeed in getting "it" away from him, though whether it 

 was snatched from below or peacefully surrendered, I could not tell. 

 At any rate, the new possessor was much more skilled than the old one, 

 and he ventured a succession of acrobatic feats with his bauble. First 

 he would drop it from his beak, and seize it with his claws the next instant. 

 After carrying the object about in his claws for a while, he would reach 

 under and seize it in his beak again — and all this time some other bird 



8 



