strike a smart blow with his beak, and then skulk off, before the horse could return the favour. With dogs and cats he stood on no ceremony, but boldly advanced to give battle, and once almost frightened a young spaniel to death, which having been accustomed to dash at sparrows and pigeons with great courage, made a similar attack upon Ralf, who, nothing daunted, struck him upon the face and eyes, and chased him yelping round the yard. The Raven is a true carrion eater, mixing, in hot countries, with the vultures at the feast; where it seems to consider the eyes of the decaying carcass as the most delicate morsel, habitually seizing upon them. The eyes of criminals executed and exposed upon gibbets or poles, as is common in some parts of the East, as well as of persons who have perished by the way, and lie unheeded, are, we are credibly informed, sure to be torn out by these birds, which may be seen clustering around. In our own country it is reported to act in the same manner with respect to dead sheep and lambs, often commencing before life be extinct. This habit has been noticed in very early times, for we read in Prov. xxx. 17, "The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out:" a warning to the disobedient child to expect an untimely death, and the disgraceful exposure of his remains.

In addition to carrion, this bird feeds upon grain, worms, grubs, reptiles, and shell-fish, "the last of which, in the manner of the crow, it drops from a considerable height in the air in order to break the shells." The eggs and young of birds, and even of domestic poultry are eagerly seized; hence it often commits, unsuspected, (for it is artful and sly in its approach,) great havoc among the farmer's broods. Mr. Lambert, third volume, Trans. Lin. Soc. mentions having seen the Raven feeding its young out of the nests of a rookery.

The Ravens generally keep in pairs; they are however sometimes seen in small flocks near the coast, after the breeding season. Their flight is high, and, like the rook, they often wheel and tumble in the air. Length twenty

six inches.

Besides the passage already quoted, we find many others in the sacred Scriptures, wherein allusion is made to the bird before us. The earliest notice occurs in Genesis viii. 7, where we learn that Noah, in order to ascertain how far the waters of the deluge had subsided, "sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth." But it did not return; probably the carcasses floating upon the waters tempted it to remain; an emblem of the sensualist, preferring the corrupt pleasures of the world to a secure abode in that refuge to which the believer always resorts.

In Leviticus this bird is enumerated among such as are unclean, and forbidden for food. Again we find a distinct notice of it, in the First Book of Kings, chap. xvii. 4-6. Elijah having prophesied against Ahab, and predicted a dearth in the land, is directed to hide by the brook Cherith before Jordan; and it is added, "Thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee."—" And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening."

In Luke xii. our blessed Redeemer is described as warning his disciples against being over anxious about earthly things, which are transient, to the neglect in the least degree of those which are of more value than the world, treasures incorruptible, an inheritance eternal in the heavens; and we find him using this remarkable expression, "Consider the ravens: for they neither sow, nor reap; which neither have storehouse, nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls." verse 24.

The CROW (Corvus corone,) is another species of the present genus, closely resembling the raven in its general habits; it is however considerably smaller, and much more common. We shall not enlarge upon its well known manners and propensities, but pass on to the Rook, (Corvus frugilegus,) a bird of gregarious habits, which has long been unjustly aspersed as the destroyer of grain; while in truth it is one of the best friends to the farmer, notwithstanding some little injury it may do to the

rising corn in its search after grubs, or the larvæ of various beetles and worms, which constitute its principal food. Though uniting in flocks, and building their nests in colonies, several being placed often close together upon the same tree; a good deal of fighting at first takes place among them; and it often happens that the sticks which an industrious pair have been collecting during the day are forcibly taken away by a set of plunderers; after a short time, however, when the nest-building of the community is over, and the females are engaged in the task of incubation, all is quiet, and the male birds are active in procuring food for their patient mates. At this time, and while the young require support, the Rook is very diligent, being abroad with the first dawn of day, and continuing the search long after sunset, till night is fairly closed.

Where a rookery has once been established, it is difficult to prevent its continuance and yearly increase, except indeed by the total destruction of the whole flock. So partial are these birds to their old haunts, that though their trees be encircled with buildings, and at length become removed as it were from the fields and open country, still the colony continue to inhabit them, a circumstance which is very remarkable even in our metropolis, where there are several rookeries of considerable magnitude. In autumn the Rooks betake themselves to the fields and ploughed lands, and collect together in flocks sometimes of many thousands; at evening, long trains may be seen steadily sailing through the air to some general roosting-place or rendezvous for the night, whence they depart in the morning and return again towards dusk. At this season too, especially if the weather be windy, they may be observed shooting, abruptly wheeling, suddenly rising and descending with great rapidity, and in a manner totally different from their steady quiet mode of flight, as if impelled by some irresistible impulse. The same is the case with the raven and crow.

The cawing of a flock of rooks, especially if heard at a distance, is far from unpleasing, and harmonizes well with

rural sounds, filling up the universal chorus of the brute creation.

Much has been said relative to the bareness, or total deficiency of feathers, which we find around the base of the Rook's bill. Some have supposed it to result from its habit of digging in the ground; but this is an absurd idea, since other birds dig as much, and are yet well clothed on the forehead and under the beak. The fact is, that this bareness is a natural character, and occurs about the head, though perhaps not exactly in the same place, in several other examples of the present family.

The JACKDAW, (Corvus Monedula,) that noisy and familiar inhabitant of steeples, towers, and chimneys, and so noted for mimicry and thieving, need not detain us.

The PIES (Pica, Cuv.) next claim a brief notice. They are distinguished by a shorter and more arched beak than is found in the genus Corvus, and by a long and graduated tail. They form a group of birds extensively spread over the colder, the temperate, and also over the hotter portions of the globe, examples equally occurring in India and the islands of the Indian archipelago, as well as in the northern regions of Europe and America. As it respects habits and manners, they are all noted for chattering, thievishness, cunning, and voracity. Our own MAGPIE (Pica caudata, RAY) is a fair specimen of the whole group.

We have few native birds more elegant in colouring or graceful in shape than the Magpie; the snowy white is admirably set off by the burnished black of its partycoloured plumage; and its long flowing tail gives a finish to the whole. Animated, prying, restless, and noisy, this bird is common in every park or coppice where trees afford it shelter and a place of nidification. Clumps of trees near the abode of man are among its favourite resorts, and even tall unclipped hedges are not unfrequently its nesting-place. He is the first to give shrill warning of the approach of the fox, the hawk, the cat, or

any similar animal, and no bird harasses the intruder on his retreat with greater pertinacity and vociferation. Not that he is himself free from the crime of poaching quite the contrary; he is notorious for destroying the eggs, and even the young of pheasants, partridges, and small birds of every kind; nor are the unfledged chickens or ducklings of the farm-yard safe from his daring attacks. In captivity he is very amusing, and notwithstanding his pilfering, no one can contemplate his arch dark eye, full of meaning, his inquisitiveness, his familiarity, and hear his efforts at mimicry, without feeling an interest in him.

Just before pairing time, the Magpie is observed to assemble in small flocks, which meet, as if in consultation, in some retired field, near the skirts of a wood, or enclosed with thick hedges. If disturbed, away they fly in different directions, making a great clamour, but soon reassemble; the remainder of the year they live in pairs. Their nest is generally placed on the topmost bough of a tall tree, and is one of the most elaborate and substantial pieces of architecture which any of our birds construct.