This short article from Listverse doesn't begin to cover all the strange and wonderful talents in the bird, believe me! If any bird ever deserved more research, this guy is the one!
Raven
The raven is a huge, unnerving, and extremely intelligent bird, which can outperform eagles in the air and, on occasion, kill mammals as large as young sheep. Though they can be found almost worldwide, few people give much thought as to where they might fit into the evolutionary tree.
The answer may astound the amateur bird lover: rather than being allied with hawks or the vultures, ravens are actually the world’s largest member of the Sparrow order, Passeriformes. Though they have a wingspan of more than five feet, and an apparently hoarse voice, ravens actually have extremely well-developed vocal structures and can form a variety of surprisingly beautiful, high pitched notes. These “super songbirds” are also capable of extreme aerobatic maneuvers, and are one of the three most intelligent birds worldwide. It’s suspected that they’ve learned how to lead wolves to their prey, so that they can scavenge the kill later on.
If I had to chose just one member of the bird family to be on my team, this would be the one! Heck, even Poe wrote about this bird!
Coffee on the patio this morning. We'll share some peach cobbler, OK?
You are right, Mr. Hermit! They are very, very smart birds. There is a funny You Tube video of one sleigh riding down a rooftop. He is just enjoying playing in the snow!
ReplyDeleteWarm here at 57 and so foggy I can't see across the road. Would love some of your peach cobbler!
They also live to 75 or older. When you see a very old raven and look in its eye, there's way too much going on in there.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see them soaring in the air I am always amazed as I have always pictures them as scavengers. I didn't know about their vocal ability tho. Coffee outside with peach cobbler sounds terrific.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of ravens around here. These things are huge. I swear they are keeping and eye on Fred. So I don't leave him alone outside.
ReplyDeleteCoffee and peach cobbler sounds so good.
They, and their first cousins the crows, are very intelligent. Fascinating birds, for sure.
ReplyDeleteWorking WITH wolves to kill things? I can see how they got their reputation!
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ReplyDeleteNot loving them here. A group of them has been hanging around this spring. I saw them on the upper deck of our shop and one was attacking his reflection in the sliding glass door. Later inspection found that they had torn holes all across the lower portion of the screen. And they left a very poopy mess, too. They have been deviling all the birds around here in their search for eggs or chicks to eat. Tenacious birds but not very nice...
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ReplyDeleteThey also mate for life, can teach their young, and can count to seven. It would take eight hunters entering and seven leaving a blind, before the ravens lose track of the number and get reckless. The more I learn about the world around me, the more I want to protect it. And I'm no bleeding heart liberal.
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of ravens here where I live and they are truly interresting! They can learn how to talk just as good as any parrot too.
ReplyDeleteThey do have a nasty way of killing sheep and calves though.
I once had a relative to the raven (an European Jackdaw) as a tame bird, I saved it when it had broken a wing, unfortunally so bad that it never could fly again. It was the funniest animal I've ever met :-)Pure evil :-) :-) :-) to be honest and so intelligent :-)
It new that it could pester all other pets I had as long as I was near, it (I have no idea if it was a he or she) talked really good and found out the best ways of destroying my appartement :-)
It loved to sit on the shoulders pulling out hairs from peoples ears and stole any kind of food when it could :-) :-) :-)One thing though, it smelled awful, I guess it had to do with itä's diet since it needed meat from time to time.
Have a great day!
Christer.
I love the Corvid clan; we have a lot of both ravens and crows in our area. My grandfather rescued a fallen fledgling as a teen. He said it even learned a few words.
ReplyDeleteI love listening to their own bird vocalizations as I work outdoors.
They are also pretty much complete assholes.
ReplyDeleteI've read other articles about ravens and they never cease to amaze me. If I ever had a pet bird it would be a toss up between an African Gray Parrot or a Raven. Tough choice!
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