RAVEN. 
CORFUS CORAX . 
Tins quaint bird is very generally distributed over the country, being found in larger or smaller numbers from 
north to south. The wild and deserted ranges of moor and the steep hill-sides of the Highlands, as well as the 
broken and precipitous cliffs of the adjacent islands, are most suited to its habits ; and here it may he met 
with at all seasons of the year. 
I believe that a partial migration takes place in some parts of the north, as I have noticed, during several 
years, a large increase to the numbers of these birds on the liill-sides of the north-west of Perthshire as soon 
as autumn commenced, the first comers usually making their appearance early in September. As hut few 
pairs nested in the district, it was easy to notice the time of their arrival, parties of ten or a dozen, and now 
and then a score, being observed hunting over the moors. I have no evidence that our shores are visited by 
migrants from the north of Europe ; so I consider it most probable these birds had strayed from some part of 
the Northern Highlands or the desolate islands off the west coast. The immense numbers of blue hares that 
infest the hills in this part of the country are without doubt the main attraction to the locality. As winter 
advanced I have on several occasions seen large flocks collected together on ground where an extensive hare- 
drive has been held. It was no uncommon sight to have from fifty to sixty Ravens in view at once while 
going over the hills on the day following the shooting. Eor several seasons I made a practice of closely 
observing these gatherings, in order to become thoroughly acquainted with the numbers and variety of the 
vermin frequenting the district. As the Ravens were collected to feed on the wounded hares that escaped 
from the guns, they were simply acting the part of scavengers on the ground, and their visits were beneficial 
rather than otherwise. 
In the vicinity of their nesting-quarters I have good evidence that they will destroy both young birds and 
eggs. The few pairs that breed in the west of Perthshire usually have their nests at a considerable elevation 
among the hills ; and I noticed them on several occasions carrying off the eggs of the Ptarmigan. In some 
of the wilder islands off the west coast these birds, together with the Grey Crows, wage a constant war against 
the eggs or young of the few Grouse that manage to subsist in their neighbourhood. 
There is nothing in the way of carrion that will come amiss to these keen-sighted birds. I have observed 
them preying on every kind of animal refuse cast up by the waves, disputing, both on the shores of the salt- 
water lochs and on the liill-sides, with Gulls, Crows, and Buzzards for the carcasses of defunct seals, sheep, 
horses, or hares, and barely giving place when the Sea-Eagle made his appearance and claimed his share. It is 
also well known among shepherds in the north that weakly sheep or lambs are now and then attacked while living, 
the ravenous birds snatching their favourite portions from the quivering victim before life is extinct. 
Several times during September and October 1S7G, while passing over the South Downs near Saddlescombe in 
Sussex, I noticed a pair of Ravens flying from the Dyke Hill. A year or so later a dead body or, rather, a 
skeleton was discovered in a patch of furze near the top of the hill. The remains and the clothing had been so 
much destroyed by the attacks of vermin and exposure to weather that it was almost impossible to judge to 
