"Close to our bows, strange forms in the water darted hither and thither before us; while thick in our rear flew the inscrutable sea-ravens. And every morning, perched on our stays, rows of these birds were seen; and spite of our hootings, for a long time obstinately clung to the hemp, as though they deemed our ship some drifting, uninhabited craft; a thing appointed to desolation, and therefore fit roosting-place for their homeless selves."
Musing: I feel this passage! There are ravens on our campus that perch by my window from time to time. These are ugly ravens - dark, and oily, and huge. Seeing them perched at my window reminds me that death is watching. And although I know it is just an icky bird, I despise its existence. In this passage from Moby Dick, this sense of doom visits The Pequod again.