RAVEN, a Bird of Prey, having black Feathers, and declared unclean by the Levit. xi. 15.Law of Moses. When Noah sent the Raven out of the Ark, to see if the Waters were withdrawn from covering the Earth, Gen. viii. 6, 7.this Bird did not return again into the Ark. ‘Tis said, that when the Raven sees its Young newly hatch’d, and cover’d with a white Down, or Pen-feathers, it conceives such an Aversion to them, that it forsakes them, and does not return to its Nest ‘till after these first Pen-feathers are fallen off, and they begin to be cover’d with black Feathers. ‘Tis to this, they say Psal. cxlvii. 9. Job xxxviii. 41.the Psalmist makes allusion, when he says, He giveth to the Beast his Food, and to the young Ravens which cry. And Job; Who provideth for the Raven his Food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of Meat. But those who have more diligently examin’d the Nature of Birds and other Animals, are not agreed about this Fact, which indeed has too much the Air of a Fable to be believed without good Proofs.
Vossius says,1 that it is the extream Voracity of the young Ravens, that makes the old ones sometimes forsake their Nests, when they find themselves not able to satisfy them. Others will have it, that this proceeds merely from the Forgetfulness of the old Ravens, that they think no longer of returning to their Nests, in order to feed their Young. Others imagine, that Job and the Psalmist allude to what is said by some Naturalists,2 that the Ravens drive out their young ones early from their Nests, and oblige them to retire a great way off from the Habitation of their Parents; and that it is on this account, that Providence has the Care of their Support. Lastly, there are others, who without refining upon these Passages, think it is only meant, that Providence extends its Care over all Beasts and Birds, which in their manner call for its Assistance; and that Ravens are only put here instead of Birds in general. When the Prophet Elijah, by an Order from the Lord, dwelt in his Retirement near the Brook Cherith,3 the Lord fed him for some time by means of the Ravens, who brought him Bread and Flesh every Morning and Evening. Some Interpreters, instead of Ravens, translate the Words of the Original by Arabians, or Merchants, or even Inhabitants of the City of Arabo, or Oreb, near to Bethshan. a To support these Translations it is observed, that the Raven being a Bird declared unclean by the Law, there is no Probability Levit. xi. 15.that God would make use of him in this Service. But notwithstanding these Reasons, the Generality of Interpreters and Commentators keep to the Version that renders it by Ravens. If those that supply’d Elijah with Flesh and Bread had been Men, why could they not also have supply’d him with Water, when the Brook Cherith was dry’d up; that he need not have been forc’d to look out for another Retreat, with the poor Widow of Zerephrath or Sarepta?
The Raven was consecrated to Apollo, as to the God of Divination. The Blackness of Cant. v. 11. Plin. l. 7. c. 48.the Raven is pass’d into a Proverb. His Locks are bushy, and black as a Raven. Yet however, there are white Ravens to be seen, and they are not rare in the Northern Countries,4 where the Snow lies for a long time upon the Ground. It has been thought that the Raven conceived by its Beak, but this is a mere Fable. The Raven lives a long time. Pliny says, that it lived the Age of nine Men; but he allows this to be a Story. We are assured, that they live sometimes an hundred Years. They feed upon Carrion, and eat the Bodies of Men that are hung up or crucify’d :
Hor. Epist. l. 1. v. 48.——— Non pasces in cruce corvos, says Horace.
Prov. xxx. 17.And the Wise Man says; The Eye that mocketh at his Father, and despiseth to obey his Mother, the Ravens of the Valley shall Zeph. ii. 14. Isai. xxxiv. 11.pick it out, and the young Eagles shall eat it. Zephaniah seems to insinuate, that they fed Ravens at the Doors of their Houses. Vox cantantis in fenestra, corvus in superliminari. But he rather insinuates, that after the Desolation of the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites, the Ravens5 shall be seen upon their Windows, and upon the Doors of their ruinated Houses. This Bird may be pretty easily taught to talk, and to imitate the human Voice.
There are several Kinds of Ravens. Some have been seen that had their Bills and Legs as red as Coral. There is also a red Raven, Pyrrhus corax; it is smaller than a Crow, and about the Bigness of a small Owl or Howlet. Its Legs and Beak are yellow, inclining towards black, and every where else is quite black. This Bird is found in the Alps, in Swisserland, in Auvergne, in Candia, on Mount-jura. The Water-Raven has its Beak long and hooked at the End, the Top of the upper Part of its Bill is black, and the rest is of a Colour compos’d of red and yellow. The Feathers of his Wings and Back are of a Chesnut Colour, the Extremities of them are black, and all the rest is black. The Feathers of his Belly are white, those of his Back are ting’d with a blackish green at the Ends, and in the Middle with bright ash-colour and red. The upper Part of the Neck is cover’d with black and white Feathers, and the Fore-part with black and green. Its Wings are very long, and of the same Colour as its Back.
The Wood-Raven, call’d by the Lorrainers, the Sea-Crow, is of the Bigness of a Hen. To look on it at a Distance, it seems to be black all over its Body; but when we see it at hand, especially when the Beams of the Sun shine upon it, it appears of a green Colour. Its Bill is reddish and pretty long, its Feet are very like those of a Hen, it feeds upon Worms and Insects; its Legs are long and of a dark ruddy Colour. It builds its Nest at the Top of uninhabited Towers that are going to decay.
The Small-Raven, or Night-Raven, Nicticorax, haunts the Waters, and retires into the Reeds, where in the Night-time it makes a very disagreeable Noise, such as a Man when he is vomiting. It builds its Nest at the Tops of Trees, lays two or three Eggs, and generally feeds upon Fishes. We find in Moses the Name of a Bird which is translated Pelican, Psal. cii. 6. and Levit. xi. 18. which comes from a Root that signifies to vomit, and which may very well be the Raven of which we are now speaking. See the Article PELICAN before.
2 Sam. xvii. 13.Mention is made in Scripture, of certain Machines with which they demolish’d Cities, and tore up the Stones of Walls. These Machines were call’d Ravens, and the Antients made great Use of ‘em at the Sieges of Cities and fortify’d Places. Diodor. l. 17. Vitruv. l. 10. c. 19. Homer Iliad. M.
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