RAVENS. 
181 
many, who have not only known them to show great indif- 
ference to any young ones accidentally thrown out of the nest, 
but have further ascertained that the parents actually devour 
them. 
It would appear from some passages in the Sacred Scriptures, 
that the desertion of their young had not escaped the observa- 
tion of the inspired writers. It was certainly a current belief, 
in the olden times, that when the Raven saw its young ones 
newly hatched, and covered with down, it conceived such an 
aversion, that it forsook them, and did not return to the nest, 
till a darker plumage had shown itself. And to this belief 
commentators suppose the Psalmist alludes, when he says, 
He giveth to the beast his food , and to the young ravens 
which cry. (Psalm cxlvii. 9.) And again, in Job, TV ho 
provideth for the raven his food ? When his young ones 
cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat. (Job 
xxxviii. 41.) 
But we do not believe this want of feeling to be peculiar 
to Ravens ; on the contrary, in an aviary where several 
Canaries build annually, instances repeatedly occur of young 
birds falling out of the nest, when, if they are of very tender 
age, the old ones seem to show no uneasiness whatever ; 
hopping or flying over them with the greatest unconcern, 
though the poor naked birds may be struggling for life. 
We have yet, indeed, much to learn respecting the real 
extent and quality of the affection of animals for their young ; 
for in the case of Canaries we have known, if wet or cold 
weather chanced to continue for a day or two, not only nests 
containing eggs, but others, with nearly full-fledged nestlings, 
requiring all a mother’s care, to be at once abandoned, and 
left to perish by cold or hunger. 
On the 2nd of June, 1833, a Canary bird in an aviary was 
unexpectedly drenched, having built her nest, during dry 
weather, in a spot exposed to .rain, which fell in a heavy 
shower on that day. On the following day, she accordingly 
quitted her nest, and appeared so unwell, that it was deemed 
expedient to remove her into a small cage, and place her in 
a warmer situation. But to our great surprise a Goldfinch, 
