TRAVELS IN ICELAND, 



33 



watch the wild-duck when it lays, and driving it from its nest 

 feed upon the eggs. Even horses are not secure from this car- 

 nivorous bird ; for when they are in the pasture, the ravens 

 search for such as have wounds, rowels, or withers, and, 

 fixing themselves with avidity upon the animal, tear out large 

 pieces of flesh, while the horse cannot rid himself of them, except 

 by kicking in a violent manner, or falling on the ground. The 

 inhabitants of the country are so well acquainted with the ar- 

 tifices of this bird, that they are never deceived by them : when 

 in the winter they see one coming at a great height in the atmo- 

 sphere, or hear its cry, they are immediately on their guard to 

 observe where it drops, and proceed to the spot to ascertain if 

 it has fallen upon one of their horses or any of their flock that 

 may have died. The people have a high opinion of this bird, 

 and superstitiously believe, that it is not only informed of what 

 passes at a distance, but even of future events ; that in particular 

 it foreknows when any person in a family is about to die, 

 because it comes and perches on the roof of the house, whence 

 it proceeds to make a tour round the church-yard, uttering a 

 continual cry, with singular and melodious variations in its voice. 

 They have even attributed to one of their learned men the gift 

 of understanding the language of the raven, and thus giving 

 intelligence of the most occult circumstances; they assert in 

 general, that the raven lays its eggs nine days before the summer 

 solstice, which is nearly about the time prescribed by nature ; 

 but they add, that if the winter frosts have not ceased, snow 

 falls, or frost ensues after this period, the bird eats its own 

 eggs and quits its nest, which is an indication of a very severe 

 spring. But notwithstanding the high opinion the Icelanders 

 entertain of these birds, they nevertheless attempt to destroy 

 them entirely, or at least to diminish their number as much as 

 possible, by making a general search for their nests, breaking the 

 eggs, and killing the young wherever they find them. It is re- 

 „ marked, that when the young ravens fall from the nest, and the 

 parents are not able to get them back, they devour them. In 

 severe winters a raven makes no scruple to eat up another, 

 which has either been killed or has died naturally. 



When an eagle passes over a spot on which he is seen by the 

 ravens, they immediately collect, follow him ; and as soon as he 

 pitches, they surround him at a few paces distance in a circle, 

 to derive advantage from his penetrating eye, which nothing 

 escapes. If the eagle discover a dead horse or other carrion, 

 he fixes on the middle of it, while the ravens arrange themselves 

 around it, without, however, coming too near. It has been 

 remarked, that the ravens seek their food in autumn in every 



OLAFSEN.] E 



