226 
RAVEN. 
approached, with a rapid flight, the wings being 
moved with a peculiarly short and quick stroke, 
the voice becoming at the same time much more 
angry and impatient ; still the parents keep out of 
harm’s way, and it is only when the young are 
handled, and utter their shriller croak, that they 
dash at the enemy, and pass within his reach. 
Such is their manner at this interesting period, 
in a district where they are occasionally molested, 
but where man is less frequently present, they 
fiercely defend their young, and become an easy 
prey if they dread intrusion on their premises. 
A specimen of a female in our collection was so 
wary, that she could not be approached on the 
nest, which was built on an old tree, growing 
from the precipitous bank of a deep mountain 
ravine, and which commanded a view of the 
country around. Finding access impossible, stra- 
tagem was resorted to, and a gun was fixed at 
about thirty yards distance, pointed at and bear- 
ing on the nest, a long string was attached to the 
trigger, the gun was cocked, and some hours 
after dark, the string was pulled, the result was 
the capture of the bird alluded to. This disposi- 
tion was very different from that of the bird 
mentioned by White of Selborne, which allowed 
the tree on which she sat to be cut, and “ was 
whipped down by the twigs, which brought her 
dead to the ground.”* In Ireland, their distribu- 
tion, habits, and breeding stations, are nearly 
similar. 
White’s Selborne. 
