CROWS. 
131 
vegetables, and, when pressed by hunger, refuse not 
carrion —hence their smell is remarkably acute. They 
are bold but wary, live in common societies, and 
possess great coiu’age. ‘ When domesticated, they 
evince a power of imitating the human voice nearly 
equal to that of the Parrot ; while their cunning, pil- 
fering, and hoarding dispositions are all symptoms of 
greater intelligence than what is found in most birds.* 
The Haven {Corvus Corax) is common over the 
whole of Europe and a great portion of Asia ; few 
birds have gained a greater share of notoriety. AYith 
the ancient Homans it was a bird of augury, and they 
regarded its flight and its hoarse croak, with its 
various actions, as presages either of good or evil. 
Tlie Danes adopted it as their military standard, 
designing to impress their foes with the notion of 
coming destruction, and that their intention was to 
give their dead bodies to the fowls of the air ; such 
accorded with the superstition of the mass of people, 
the Haven’s very presence seeming to forebode dis- 
ease, calamity, and death. IIow general this notion 
was we notice from its association in “ Macbeth” with 
the horrors of coming desolation — 
“The raven himself is hoarse» 
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan 
Under my battlements.” 
The Haven is a bold bird, hardy and powerful, in its 
habits omnivorous, not only feeding on carrion but 
attacking ducks, chickens, and small quadrupeds, 
which its strong pointed beak enables it to despatch 
with a few strokes. It even attacks young lambs 
* Classification of Birds. 
