The Raven is in danger of extinction in our country unless better protection can be procured for him. Sheep farmers have a special grudge against him. Its numbers are kept down in the South of England by the prices paid for the young birds. Still they continue to breed all along the south coast and from North Devon to Wales, wherever there is a suitable headland. The so-called Raven-trees are much fewer than they used to be. The Raven is rare in the eastern counties and in the Midlands. In Scotland it is not uncommon wherever it finds suitable cliffs to build in. In Ireland its numbers are fast decreasing. Its fondness for weakly ewes, lambs and game make him an object of hatred in many districts.
USEFUL.
THE JACKDAW.
THE JACKDAW.
(Corvus monedula.)
The Jackdaw is considerably smaller than the Crow. The crown of its head is black, the nape and throat grey at the sides; the back and the tail also black; the underpart slatey-grey and black. The plumage and eyes of the Jackdaw become whitish in old age. It builds its nest in hollow trees, in the clefts of banks and of old masonry, and in towns between the ornamental parts of buildings. The eggs, which usually are five in number, are of a light bluish-green speckled with dark grey and olive brown.