When I think about Ravens (and I often do), there are certain aspects that I tend to dwell on.
First of all, Ravens are very social. You rarely see one Raven. They are usually in pairs or multiples of two. They are loving with each other -- touching frequently, sharing food, and talking. Always with the talking.
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| He's all puffed up and sexy looking and she's like, "Uh, yea, okay, honey." |
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| There are 8 in the pic -- one is still in the tree. Ravens are usually in pairs. |
Next, they are amazing in flight. Groups of them love to soar around the redwood trees and do dizzying aerial maneuvers It's really something to watch.
In addition, they are smart . . . and naughty. They use their intelligence to solve problems. At my school, the ravens have figured out how to get down to the bottom of the garbage bags when there is only a little bit of trash in there. They perch on the edge of the can and reach in to grab a bit of the bag. Then they catch that part with their foot and grab lower for another bit of bag, pulling it up and holding it with their foot. They repeat this until they can reach whatever tasty treat they so desperately wanted from the bottom of the garbage. Our janitor, as you might imagine, *loves* ravens! :)
Their appearance is something else as well. They are a bird of extremes. Their feathers are blacker than black. Their beak is huge and intimidating. Their feet are huge. When you get close to them, they are fairly breathtakingly large.
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| Big beak, big feet. |
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| BIG feet. |
Last of all, the noises that Ravens make are startling. Enjoy these video clips.
Sorry the sound quality isn't better -- I took it with my camera. There are more Raven videos on my
YouTube channel. Enjoy.
I feel really lucky to live in an area where Ravens abound.
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| PS. They jump, too. |
