Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/142

 The habits of the Raven in a state of nature, are so graphically described in a paper in the "Zoologist," for 1843, that we shall extract it almost entire. "The Raven, or as we call him in Scotland, the 'Corbie,' is a bold, hardy, and strong-pinioned fowl. He is said to be black, and so he appears at a distance, but when inspected more nearly, his feathers are found to be of a glossy blue. The strength and structure of his beak and talons indicate his carnivorous nature; and we find in the days of falconry he was trained to that sport: but he does not seem to have recourse to rapine and murder unless irritated, or hard pressed by hunger, for he prefers carrion just entering on a putrid state to a victim recently slain. He is known throughout the Old Continent from the Arctic Seas to the Cape of Good Hope, and in America, from Hudson's Bay to Mexico. He is seen in the remotest isles of the Polar Seas, and within the Torrid zone; and is the only fowl whose character remains unchanged by the extremes of heat and cold. He constantly traverses the mountain-regions; and breathing a pure atmosphere, he lives to a great age, and is able to make the most laborious flights from one country to another.

"The Corbie is well known to the shepherd on all the hilly tracts of Scotland. His common cry is croak, but when in a state of excitement he utters another sound, which if I could manage to express it by letters, I should spell thus—whii-ur: this is repeated with great rapidity, a strong accent being laid on the two i-s, and the ur, or last