184 CORVID.E. 



or seven in number, of a bluish colour, blotched with irregu- 

 lar spots of brown. The order in which they are deposited 

 is scarcely ever seen, for it rarely happens that a human being 

 can approach sufficiently near for the purpose. The young 

 corbies, however, are seldom permitted to escape ; for the 

 shepherd seeking the spot, perilous though it be, smashes the 

 eggs with stones hurled from above, and batters the nest to 

 pieces. He sometimes postpones his revenge until the young 

 ones, full grown and fat, are peeping over the brink of the 

 nest, and almost ready to abandon it altogether. He would 

 always delay his attack till this period, but as the young- 

 advance in age and size, the more extensively and recklessly 

 do their parents cater for their support. 



" When Ravens set out on a long journey, they always 

 travel in pairs, and so high in the air that, were it not for 

 their frequent crying, they would escape notice altogether. 

 So great is the height at which they fly, that no cliff or peak, 

 however lofty, can cause them to swerve from the direct course 

 on which they are bent." 



Some interesting particulars of the nidification and habits 

 of the Raven are detailed in the same periodical, by A. E. 

 Knox, Esq., as follows, " The Raven, although still to be 

 found breeding in some parts of the country favourable 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 veneration with 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 Steyming ; but continued per- 

 secution has, I understand, effectually banished them from 

 that neighbourhood. 



