RA VEN . — Corvus cor ax. 
The Raven is a British bird, once common, but now seldom seen except in 
wild and uncultivated districts. 
This truly handsome bird is spread over almost all portions of the globe, 
finding a livelihood wherever there are wide expanses of uncultivated ground, and 
only being driven from its home by the advance of cultivation and the conse- 
quent inhabitance of the soil by human beings. It is a solitary bird, living in 
the wildest district that it can find, and especially preferring those that are 
intersected with hills. In such places the Raven reigns supreme, hardly the eagle 
himself daring to contest the supremacy with so powerful, crafty, and strong- 
beaked a bird. 
The food of the Raven is almost entirely of an animal nature, and there are few 
living things which the Raven will not eat whenever it finds an opportunity of so 
doing. Worms, grubs, caterpillars, and insects of all kinds are swallowed by 
hundreds, but the diet in which the Raven most delights is dead carrion. 
In consequence of this taste, the Raven may be found rather plentifully on 
the Scottish sheep-feeding grounds, where the flocks are of such immense size 
that the bird is sure to find a sufficiency of food among the daily dead ; for its 
wings are large and powerful, and its daily range of flight is so great, that many 
thousands of sheep pass daily under its view, and it is tolerably sure in the 
day to find at least one dead sheep or lamb. 
