Birds. 229 



their mates, and apparently making the most of their time during the 

 absence of their tormentor. 



There being no covert or brushwood at hand, and the branches of 

 the trees being yet leafless, I was unable to conceal myself effectually, 

 but having lain down at the foot of the tree containing the nest, I 

 awaited the return of the ravens. 



Nearly an hour elapsed before the arrival of the male bird, and I 

 was first made aware of his approach by the consternation which it ap- 

 peared to spread among the jackdaws. Like most animals under si- 

 milar circumstances, when conscious of the approach of danger, they 

 rapidly collected their forces on a single tree, keeping up all the time 

 an incessant chattering, each bird shifting his position rapidly from 

 bough to bough, while the raven, who held some food in his beak, 

 satisfied himself on this occasion with two or three swoops into the 

 terrified crowd, and having routed the greater part of them, he ap- 

 proached the tree in which his nest was placed. 



Before arriving there, however, he evidently became aware of my 

 presence, and dropping his prey, which proved to be a rat, he as- 

 cended in the air to a great height, in circular gyrations after the man- 

 ner of a falcon, where he was soon joined by his consort, and the two 

 birds continued to soar above my head while I remained there, utter- 

 ing not only their usual hoarse croak, but also an extraordinary sound 

 resembling the exclamation Oh ! loudly and clearly ejaculated. At 

 first I could scarcely persuade myself that it proceeded from the throat 

 of either of the ravens, but my doubts were soon dispelled, for there 

 was no human being within sight, and after carefully examining 

 one of the birds for some time with the glass, I observed that each 

 note was preceded by an opening of the beak, the great distance, of 

 course, preventing sight and sound from being simultaneous. 



I could not accurately distinguish to which of the birds this excla- 

 mation was to be attributed, but it apparently proceeded from one 

 only, which seemed to be the female, or lesser of the two, and if in- 

 tended to have the effect of imposing silence on its young, proved per- 

 fectly successful, for during the two hours that I remained there, the 

 latter never uttered a cry. 



With the assistance of ladders firmly fixed together, the nest was 

 reached. It was comfortably lined throughout with the fur of the fal- 

 low deer, and contained three young ones, which appeared to have 

 been hatched about a fortnight. 



About six years have elapsed since a former pair of ravens built in 

 Petworth Park. The old male was at layt shot ; this occurred in the 



