In voracity the Raven has but few equals, for not only will it eat almost all kinds of food, including fruit, corn, and every description of insect, but it will seize upon and devour creatures exceeding itself in size, and attack not only almost any quadruped from a hare to a mouse, but boldly engage the Seagulls in combat, when those birds seem inclined to dispute its right to invade their nests and despoil them of their young. Boldness and cunning, strength and dexterity, all seem to be united in the character of this daring marauder; it will attack domestic fowls, ducks, or young geese, and chase and destroy not only partridges, but hares and pheasants. In some parts of Ireland the Raven may be seen picking up its food in the vicinity of houses in company with dogs and cats, or prowling about on the sea-shore in search of fish. During the spring it destroys numbers of young lambs, or amuses itself by driving Eider Ducks from their nests to devour their eggs, and when it has satiated itself will conceal those that remain beneath the sand; even horses are not free from the attacks of these birds, which will settle upon the back of any wounded or suffering animal, and can only be dislodged after long and violent efforts. Eagles they do not venture to contend with, but follow in their wake in the hope of obtaining the remnants of their prey; in short, nothing that can be overcome by their strength, craft, or audacity is spared; they will even, it is said, devour the aged or nestlings belonging to their own species. We are assured that mussels form a part of the Raven's diet, the bird having first carried them into the air, and let them fall from a considerable height, to break their shells upon the rocks or stones beneath; they will also eat the hermit crab, which is obtained by rapping its shell until the unsuspecting creature creeps out to ascertain the cause of the disturbance. Despite the cruel and rapacious disposition of these birds, their deeds are not always deeds of evil; on the contrary, great and valuable are some of the services they often render to man, insomuch that by some nations they are regarded with the utmost favour—the Arabs, indeed, look upon them with such superstitious reverence as to imagine them to be immortal, and in Greenland and Iceland they are allowed to run tame about the houses. On the other hand, in the Canary Islands they are held in the utmost detestation by the shepherds, who maintain that they constantly peck out the eyes of young goats and lambs, and on this account wage an exterminating war against them.
The eyrie of the Raven is generally situated in the hole of a rock, or the summit of a high and inaccessible tree; it is usually about one foot deep, and from two to three feet wide; the exterior is formed of small branches, lined with a layer of twigs, and the interior, which is about nine inches in diameter, and four or five inches in depth, bedded with wool, fine grass, and similar materials, the utmost caution being employed by these birds, both when seeking materials and when building the large and strong cradle which year after year is resorted to for the purposes of incubation. The eggs, usually four or five in number, are large, and of a green colour, marked with brown and grey spots. Ravens are by no means deficient in care for their young, and labour incessantly to satisfy their ever-craving beaks with all kinds of animal food; should fear compel them to quit their charge, they perch as near the little family as safety will permit, and testify by plaintive cries and anxious flutterings their desire to return to their brood. When fully fledged, the young do not entirely leave the nest, but return every evening for some weeks, in order to pass the night in the snug warmth that it affords them, and perhaps to receive instruction during the day, as to the means to be employed in obtaining food; they probably leave their protectors only when the autumn approaches. When tamed the Raven may be taught to speak with facility. It will likewise imitate a great variety of sounds, and those who can overlook its thievish propensities and tiresome habits will often derive considerable pleasure from watching its amusing tricks, and cultivating its really high capacities.
The VULTURE RAVENS (Corvultur), as two African members of this group have been called, are birds exceeding the Common Raven in rapacity as well as in size. Both these species have unusually thick beaks, compressed at their sides, the upper mandible being so decidedly bent as closely to resemble that of a Vulture; the third and forth quills are longer than the rest; the tail is rather large, and slightly graduated.
THE WHITE-NECKED VULTURE RAVEN (Corvultur albicollis).
The White-necked Vulture Raven (Corvultur albicollis) and the Thick-billed Vulture Raven (Corvultur crassirostris), the former a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and the latter an inhabitant of Abyssinia, are much alike in their general appearance; both are of a glossy coal black, except upon the nape, which is white. In the Abyssinian species the sides of the neck gleam with a rich purple, and the rest of the coat is lighted up with a blue refulgence; the small feathers upon the wing-covers near the shoulder are a mixture of chestnut and black; and the white marks upon the nape extend upwards till they reach the top of the head; the eye is reddish brown, the feet and beak black, the latter being tipped with white. The length of this species is about three feet two inches, the length of wing one foot five inches, and of the tail nine inches. According to Rüppell, this bird inhabits the Abyssinian highlands, and is often found at an altitude of 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. Le Vaillant tells us that the Vulture Raven is voracious, daring, extremely noisy, and very filthy in its habits, subsists principally upon carrion, and destroys large numbers of sheep and gazelles, tearing out their eyes and tongue and then devouring them. Were it possible, it would readily contend with buffaloes, elephants, cattle, or horses, but is compelled to rest content with following them and relieving such as are tormented with various parasites to which they are liable, the poor creatures often allowing the Vulture Raven to peck their hides till the blood flows rather than endure the perpetual irritation from which they suffer so severely. The nest of the Vulture Raven is built in October, and placed upon the branches of a tree; it is formed of twigs, lined with some soft material. The four eggs of which a brood is composed are green, spotted with brown. This species never migrates, but remains from one year's end to another near the same locality; occasionally it associates with its congeners, but never partakes of the food on which they subsist.
THE SCAPULATED RAVEN (Pterocorax scapulatus).