Birds. 221 



depth of about a quarter of an inch, by which he supposed it collect- 

 ed small marine insects and worms, while it continued to work the 

 bill all the time, precisely in the manner of a duck. 



" At a late period he saw a flock of five avocets at Pagham harbour, 

 about six miles from Chichester. They were particularly tame ; on 

 discharging his gun two were killed and one w^ounded : the survivors 

 however did not attempt to fly away, until he had advanced to pick 

 up the dead birds. He had previously for some time observed their 

 mode of feeding, and noticed the same ploughing of the sand, as in 

 the spoonbill, but with this difference, that the avocet ploughed with 

 the co7ivexity of the bill. 



" Two of these avocets are now in the Chichester Museum ; the 

 third (the wounded one) was purchased by Mr. Tuffhell of Mundham, 

 who placed it in his garden, where it lived for a short time, and was 

 at last killed by a cat. Here the same action was observed of plough- 

 ing or mowing from right to left along the surface of the grass, or ra- 

 ther brushing it from side to side." 



The wood-cut at page 225, will give a tolerably correct idea of the 

 attitude of the bird when in the act of procuring its food. 



Raven. — The raven, although still to be found breeding in some 

 parts of the county favorable to its nidification, is much less numerous 

 as a species, and more partially distributed here than in former years. 

 This in some measure is to be attributed to the gradual disappearance 

 from our woods and parks of most of the tall old trees in which they 

 loved to build, and partly to the absence of that superstitious venera- 

 tion wdth which this bird is still regarded in the North of England. 



A pair of ravens used to build until very lately in the ruins of 

 Bramber Castle, near Steyning; but continued persecution has, I 

 understand, effectually banished them from that neighbourhood. 



As these birds breed very early in the spring, the young are gene- 

 rally fledged about the latter end of March or the beginning of April. 

 After that time they are not to be found in the vicinity of their nests, 

 but, accompanied by their young ones, the old birds seek an open 

 country without trees or human habitations, where, secure from sud- 

 den surprise, they superintend their education in the art of flying. 



A pair of ravens with two or three young ones have frequently been 

 observed thus engaged, at this time of the year, on the South Downs, 

 near the Devil's Dyke. On one occasion, the latter, when apparently 

 fatigued by their early lesson, alighted on the ground, and did not 

 then exhibit that wary dread of man which might have been expected, 



q2 



