118 



RAVEN. 



Kolben enumerates the Raven among the bh^ds of the Cape of 

 Good Hope;^ De Grandpre represents it as mimeroiis in Bengal^ 

 where they are said to be protected for their usefulness ;t and the 

 unfortunate La Perouse saw them at Bale de Castries^ on the east 

 coast of Tartary ; likewise at Port des Frajtgoisy 58 37 north lati- 

 tude, and 139 50 west longitude; and at Monterey Bay, north 

 California.! The English circumnavigators met with them at 

 Nootka Sound ; § and at the Sandwich Islands, two being seen in 

 the village of Kakooa ; also at Owhyhee, and supposed to be ador- 

 ed there, as they were called Eatooas.^^ Our intrepid American 

 travellers, under the command of Lewis and Clark, shortly after 

 they embarked on the Columbia river, saw abundance of Ravens, 

 which were attracted thither by the immense quantity of dead sal- 

 mon which lined the shores.tt They are found at all seasons at 

 Hudson^s Bay;tt are frequent in Mexico ;§§ and it is more than 

 probable that they inhabit the whole continent of America. 



The Raven measures from the tip of the bill to the end of 

 the tail twenty-six inches, and is four feet in extent ; the bill is 

 large and strong, of a shining black, notched near the tip, and 

 three inches long, the setaceous feathers which cover the nostrils 

 extend half its length ; the eyes are black ; the general color is a 

 deep glossy black, with steel-blue reflections ; the lower parts are 

 less glossy; the tail is rounded, and extends about two inches be- 

 yond the wings ; the legs are two inches and a half in length, and, 

 with the feet, are strong and black; the claws are long. 



This bird is said to attain to a great age; and its plumage to 

 be subject to change from the influence of years and of climate. 

 It is found in Iceland and Greenland entirely white. 



^ Medley's Kolben, vol. ii, p. 136. f Voy. in the Indian Ocean, p. 14a. 



^ Voy. par I. F. G. De la Perouse, ii, p. 129, 203, 443. 



<5, Cook's last voy. ii, p. 236. Am. e(L Idem, iii, p. 329. 



It Gass's Journal, p. 153. U Charlevoix. Kalm. Hearne's Journey. 



Fernandez. 



