220 
CORVIDAE. 
I NS ESS ORES. CORVIDjE. 
CONIROSTRES. 
RAVEN. 
CORVUS CORAX. 
PLATE LVII. 
The Raven, which a few years ago used to breed in 
old ruins, and even in some of our church-steeples, is now 
only to be met with far distant from man's abode, leading 
a solitary and persecuted life : it is in consequence one of 
the shyest and most wary birds in this country. In Nor¬ 
way, on the contrary, where the feathered tribes are loved 
and cherished, they so abound, that we at one time count¬ 
ed as many as eighteen together; there they are pert and 
confident, and would frequently remain quietly seated till 
we had passed them at a distance of a few yards. On 
one island which we visited we saw several of their nests 
in a large sepulchral-looking cave, peculiarly suitable as 
the residence of birds which, in some districts, are re¬ 
garded as of ill-omen. 
At home the Raven breeds in the most wild and inac¬ 
cessible districts, building its nest, for the most part, in 
the steepest cliffs upon the sea-coast, sometimes, when 
inland, upon lofty trees. They have for a great many 
years been known to breed in the mausoleum at Castle 
Howard, in Yorkshire. 
The nest is large, and composed of sticks plastered to¬ 
gether with mud, and lined with a quantity of roots, 
wool, and the fur of animals. 
