Raven

a bird of the crow family. It is distinguished by its large size and hoarse croak. The European raven nests in rocky ledges and lives on fruits, nuts, snails, and not infrequently, on helpless young hares and lambs, or even carrion. Barnaby Rudge and his raven afford Dickens an opportunity for some fine passages. Very likely Poe had the same species in mind when he wrote. The Raven. The American or northern raven is of local distribution, ranging from Alaska and Greenland to British Columbia and North Carolina. It is found locally at interior points. It has a length of twenty to twenty-seven inches and a wing expanse of about forty inches. From two to seven bluish green eggs with olive markings are placed in a stick-built, grass-lined nest in some tree or on a cliff. No complaint has been lodged against the habits of this solemn, long-winged denizen of the far-off woods. In Scotland the raven is called a corbie. The European raven is a much tamer bird than the American raven. Both species are "as black as a crow." See Crow