132 
BEAUTIFUL BIRDS. 
and sickly slieep, picking out tlieir eyes, and leaving 
them to a miserable lingering death. In addition to 
these, eggs, grain, grubs, reptiles, and shelled moUusks 
are amon" the articles of its bill of fare. It some- 
O 
times visits the sea-shore in search of putrid fish and 
animal exuvia3. 
The favourite resorts of this bird are bold mountain 
precipices, where, in some inaccessible ledge, or as has 
been seen, on the branches of some stunted yew-tree, 
starting as it were out of the rifts of the tremendous 
precipice, it builds its nest, occupying the same spot 
for a long succession of years. In districts where the 
character of the scenery is different, it makes its nest 
in tall trees, which it annually visits for the same 
purpose. The nest is formed of sticks, and lined with 
wool. The eggs, from five to seven in number, are of 
a dark green, blotched with black. Ravens are gene- 
rally seen, like the Crow, in pairs, but sometimes during 
the winter in small companies of eight or ten their 
flight is high, and they often wheel and tumble in the 
air. This bird, arrayed in glossy blue-black plumage, 
is often kept tame, and soon becomes very familiar ; 
often, indeed, mischievously so, from its propensity 
to secrete glittering articles, as keys, glass, sih er, and 
the like ; nor are eggs or the poultry of the yard 
quite secure from its incursions. It is very daring in 
self-defence. Mr. Thompson states that one which 
lived in the yard attached to the chief inn at Antrim 
for about fifteen years, had occasional encounters with 
game-cocks brought thither to engage it, and bets 
were pending on the issue. The Raven in every in- 
stance proved the victor ; it avoided the blows of the 
