The raven. Of all "birds of ill omen" the raven easily takes first place. In many countries; even to-day; he is regarded as the possessor of mysterious intelligence; probably because of his lonely habits. His reputation as a carrion-feeder dates from the Flood: his failure to return to the Ark being suggestive of the fare that awaited him in the way of drowned creatures. He also devours the young of other animals; and lastly - he is black. He figures largely in poetry and legend as a bird of augury. Our picture illustrates a passage from the well-known poem. "The Raven;" by Edgar Allen Poe. Illustration for one of a set of 25 cigarette cards on the subject of Popular Superstitions issued by Godfrey Phillips in 1930.