RAVEN. 
245 
RAVEN CORVUS CORAX — Plate LXXV. Fig. 3. 
Gmel. Syst. i. p. 364. Ind. Orn. p. 160 Le Corbeau, Briss. ii. p. 8, et var. 
Buff. Ois. iii. p. 13. PI. Enl. 495. Temm. Man. d' Orn. p. 107. — Raven, 
Lath. Gen. Syn. i. p. 367. Id. Supp. p. 74. Penn. Brit. Zool. No. 74. 
Arct. Zool. No. 134. Shaw, Gen. Zool. vii. p. 341. Bewick, i. p. 100. Low, 
Fauna Oreadensis, p. 45. PeaWs Museum, No. 175. 
CORVUS CORAX.—Limmvs. 
Corvus corax, Bonap. Synop. p. 56. Flem. Br. Anim. p. 87. — Raven, Mont. Om. 
Piet, and Supp. p. 67. Selby, Must. Br. Orn. pi. 27. 
A KNOWLEDGE of this Celebrated bird has been handed 
down to us from the earliest ages ; and its history is almost 
coeval with that of man. In the best and most ancient of all 
books, we learn, that at the end of forty days, after the great 
flood had covered the earth, Noah, wishing to ascertain whether 
or no the waters had abated, sent forth a raven, which did not 
return into the ark.* This is the first notice that is taken of 
this species. Though the raven was declared unclean by the 
law of Moses, yet we are informed, that, when the prophet 
Elijah provoked the enmity of Ahab, by prophesying against 
him, and hid himself by the brook Cherith, the ravens were 
appointed by Heaven to bring him his daily food.f The 
colour of the raven has given rise to a similitude, in one of the 
most beautiful of eclogues, which has been perpetuated in all 
subsequent ages, and which is not less pleasing for being trite 
or proverbial. The favourite of the royal lover of Jerusalem, 
in the enthusiasm of affection, thus describes the object of her 
adoration, in reply to the following question : — 
“ "What is thy beloved more than another beloved, 
O thou fairest among women ?” 
Genesis, viii. 7. 
f 1 Kings, xvii. 5, 6, 
