The raven lays four or five eggs. About the time
when the mercenaries under Medius were slaughtered at Pharsalus, the
districts about Athens and the Peloponnese were left destitute of
ravens, from which it would appear that these birds have some means of
intercommunicating with one another.
32
Of eagles there are several species. One of them, called 'the
white-tailed eagle', is found on low lands, in groves, and in the
neighbourhood of cities; some call it the 'heron-killer'. It is bold
enough to fly to mountains and the interior of forests. The other
eagles seldom visit groves or low-lying land. There is another species
called the 'plangus'; it ranks second in point of size and strength;
it lives in mountain combes and glens, and by marshy lakes, and goes
by the name of 'duck-killer' and 'swart-eagle.' It is mentioned by
Homer in his account of the visit made by Priam to the tent of
Achilles. There is another species with black Plumage, the smallest
but boldest of all the kinds. It dwells on mountains or in forests,
and is called 'the black-eagle' or 'the hare-killer'; it is the only
eagle that rears its young and thoroughly takes them out with it.
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