CHAPTER IV. 
THE RAVEN 
(Cor ms corax). 
“ The stern and gloomy Raven haunted here, 
A hermit of the atmosphere, on land 
Among vociferating crowds a stranger, 
Whose hoarse, low, ominous croak disclaim’d communion 
With those, upon the offal of whose meals 
He gorged alone, or tore their own rank corses.” 
Montgomery. 
The Corvidae form a group amongst my feathered 
proteges in no way remarkable for beauty of plumage; on 
the contrary, the dress is sombre : ’tis a black family, held 
by man in still blacker estimation, too, than it deserves. 
Everyone is ready to exclaim at the ugliness, repulsive¬ 
ness, and roguery, of Crows in general: their extraordi¬ 
nary intelligence, even, is gainsaid; as, for instance, in 
the fable of the fox and the Raven, where the latter is 
made to lose his cheese through his want of sense; and 
we may safely say that their good qualities are never by 
chance, even, alluded to by anybody. The Raven has no 
friends, is loved by none, tolerated by no one; on the 
contrary, young and old are banded together for its 
destruction. The different members of this family are 
ruthlessly murdered, their eggs and brood taken, and 
their nests destroyed. I will not attempt to clear the 
