BIRDS. 217 
or in any other inaccessible place. He is easily tamed ; 
and, like the parrot and starling, he can imitate the 
human voice, in articulating words. At the seat of the 
Marquis of Aylesbury, in Wiltshire, a tame raven, that 
had been taught to speak, used to ramble about in the 
park ; there he was commonly attended and beset with 
crows, rooks, and others of his inquisitive tribe. When 
a considerable number of these were collected round him, 
he would lift up his head, and with a hoarse and hollow 
voice shout out Holla ! This would instantly put to 
flight and disperse his sable brethren ; while the Raven 
seemed to enjoy the fright he had occasioned. When do- 
mesticated, the Raven is of great service, both as a scaven- 
ger and in keeping watch, in the last of which he is 
more alert and vigilant than almost any other animal. 
The Raven was the ensign of the invading Danes, and the 
dislike which that produced is not yet quite forgotten. 
Of the perseverance of the Raven in the act of incuba- 
tion, Mr. White relates the following singular anecdote: 
In the centre of a grove near Selborne, there stood an 
oak, which, though on the whole shapely and tall, 
bulged out into a large excrescence near the middle 
of the stem. On this tree a pair of Ravens had fixed 
their residence for such a series of years, that the oak 
was distinguished by the title of " The Raven-tree." 
Many were the attempts of the neighbouring youths to get 
at this nest: the difficulty whetted their inclinations, and 
each was ambitious of surmounting the arduous task ; but 
when they arrived at the swelling, it jutted out so in their 
way, and was so far beyond their grasp, that the boldest 
lads were deterred, and acknowledged the undertaking to 
be too hazardous. Thus the Ravens continued to build, 
nest upon nest, in perfect security, till the fatal day on 
which the wood was to be levelled. This was in the month 
of February, when those birds usually sit. The saw was 
applied to the trunk, the wedges were insei ted into the 
