RAVEN. 181 



clong ! clo?ig ! expressed in presence of one another, but at 

 no other time. 



Young birds obtained from the nest become very tame, 

 and learn to pronounce words plainly : they are, however, 

 great thieves, and are known to carry off and hide children's 

 toys, or anything that glitters. This natural propensity is 

 shown also in their wild state, as they carry many bright and 

 glittering substances in their nests. 



" The corbie," says W. H. of Stobo Hope, in a com- 

 munication to the Zoologist, " is well known to the 

 shepherd on all the hilly tracts of Scotland. His common 

 cry is croak ; but when in a state of excitement he utters 

 another sound, which, if I could manage to express by letters, 

 I should spell thus — whii-ur : this is repeated with great 

 rapidity, a strong accent being laid on the two ii's, and the 

 ur, or last syllable, seeming to proceed from a collapsing of 

 the throat after its distension in pronouncing the first. With 

 this cry he very commonly intermixes another, something like 

 clung, uttered very much as by a human voice, only a little 

 milder in the sound. The Ravens are excited to these cries 

 when the shepherd or his dog seems likely to discover a 

 carcass on which they have been rioting and feasting. 



" In Ravens the senses of sight and smell are remarkably 

 acute and powerful. Perched usually on some tall cliff 

 that commands a wide survey, these faculties are in constant 

 and rapid exercise, and all the movements of the bird are 

 regulated in accordance with the information thus procured. 

 The smell of death is so grateful to them, that they utter a 

 loud croak of satisfaction instantly on perceiving it. In pass- 

 ing over sheep, if a tainted smell be perceptible, they cry 

 vehemently. From this propensity in the Raven, to announce 

 his satisfaction in the smell of death, has probably arisen the 

 common notion that he is aware of its approach among the 

 human race, and foretells it by his croaking. I have no 



