RAVEN. 
235 
Falls of the Niagara river, they are numerous; and it 
is a remarkable fact, that where they so abound, the 
common crow ( c . corone ) seldom makes its appearance ; 
being intimidated, it is conjectured, by the superior 
size and strength of the former, or by an antipathy 
which the two species manifest towards each other. 
This I had an opportunity of observing myself, in a 
journey during the months of August and September, 
along the lakes Erie and Ontario. The ravens were 
seen every day, prowling about in search of the dead 
fish which the waves are continually casting ashor% 
and w^hich afford them an abundance of a favourite 
food ; but I did not see or hear a single crow within 
several miles of the lakes, and but very few through 
the whole of the Gennesee country. 
The food of this species is dead animal matter of all 
kinds, not excepting the most putrid carrion, which it 
devours in common with the vultures ; worms, grubs, 
reptiles, and shell fish, the last of which, in the manner 
of the crow, it drops from a considerable height in the 
air on the rocks, in order to break the shells ; it is 
fond of bird’s eggs, and is often observed sneaking 
around the farm house in search of the eggs of the 
domestic poultry, which it sucks w ith eagerness ; it is 
likewise charged with destroying young ducks and 
chickens, and lambs which have been yeaned in a sickly 
state. The raven, it is said, follows the hunters of deer 
for the purpose of falling heir to the offal ;* and the 
huntsmen are obliged to cover their game, when it is 
left in the w^oods, with their hunting frocks, to protect 
it from this thievish connoisseur, who, if he have an 
opportunity, will attack the region of the kidneys, and 
mangle the saddle without ceremony. 
Buffon says, that “ the raven plucks out the eyes of 
buffaloes , and then, fixing on the back , it tears off the 
flesh deliberately ; and what renders the ferocity more 
detestable, it is not incited by the cravings of hunger, 
* This is the case in those parts of the United States where the 
deer are hunted without dogs : where these are employed, they are 
generally rewarded with the offal. 
