Mistress Corvina Riqizdauhtar and Lady Raven Shadowwinds

The Wonderful World of Ravens

***Credits*** The dancing ravens were provided by Lisa Konrad and the Animation Arthouse

Raven Facts

"...the raven is big, black, and beautiful. Its highly glossed plumage shows iridescent greens, blues, and purples, shining like a black dewdrop in the light. And it dives and rolls like a black thunderbolt out of the sky or speeds along with liquid, gliding strokes. The raven is the paragon of the air, and more. It is assumed to be the brains of the bird world, so deep, sonorous, penetrating voice demands immediate attention and respect, even though we have little or no idea what it says. It has a greater variety of calls than perhaps any other animal in the world except human beings. It is an imposing bird." -Bernd Heinrich

Meet my friend Connor. He's a "common raven" - "corvus corax" according to the world of science. The name means "Raven croaker", by the way. The common raven's habitat spans the globe and this glorious bird does not really appear picky about where he lives. He is not irritated by extremes in climate or altitude and live in many different environments. You can find ravens in the Artic, Mountains, Deserts and near the oceans. The other raven species which lives in the US is the Chihuahuan raven. He is a tad smaller than Connor and has white feathers at the base of his neck which are only visible when they are ruffled. The Chihuahuan raven lives primarily in the Midwest in the desert and used to be called the white necked raven.

Connor and his brothers have the distinction of being the world's largest songbird, and the world's largest black bird. A full grown raven stands a little over 2 feet tall and typically weighs about 24 to 30 ounces - comparable in size to a hawk. His wingspan is about four feet, maybe a little more, and he has a tail which is more tapered or wedge shaped than his cousin the crow which has a squared off tail.

When Connor catches the sun just right, he is truly beautiful. The raven reflects a bluish purple iridescent sheen from his black feathers in the sunlight. The neck feathers will often appear mussed or somewhat fluffy. His beak is heavy and quite strong. The common raven is completely black; including feet and beak, but some other types of ravens will have other markings.

Connor may resemble a crow, but he is much more talented in the vocal department. He makes more of a low groaking sound than the caw typical of a crow, and like other ravens he can make a variety of sounds. One of these resembles raspy raucous laughter. Ravens have been observed mimicking telephones, cell phone ring tones, other birds and doorbells. If raised in captivity, they will also mimic the human voice.

Ravens such as Connor are very intelligent problem solvers by nature. Given ample time they will pick locks, untie knots and have opened windows and doors closed by simple mechanisms. They are thieves and will store food their future snacking pleasure. They will hide most of the food they find and carry it in their throats until they find a good hiding place for it - which they will memorise and return to in lean times. They have also learned a long time ago that certain human activity (war for instance) or inventions (the ambulance) indicate the probability of carrion and have been known to follow ambulances and observe battlefields.

Ravens are capble of using tools. There have been experiments which showed ravens were able to create a hook to reach something they wanted from the bottom of a bottle. They have also used stones to break things or to attack owls.

Connor and his kin are likely to show advanced social behaviours. When an adult raven finds a meal large enough, he will call other ravens to join him. If he is not successful he may leave the meal and go find dining companions. They will use gang warfare as well. The owl is their primary predator and also their worst competition for food so there is no great love for the owl among ravens. Ravens have been known to make pre-emptive strikes against a sleeping owl, using his sleep and wake cycle to give the raven the element of surprise for the first round of attack. They play games. They dance, they sing together. During snowy weather they will participate in a communal game of synchronised snow sliding.

Though social by nature, they will keep nesting sites private and prefer the company of their mate while at home. Ravens mate for life after about 3 years of age. Even among established pairs, an elaborate yearly courtship ritual occurs. Aerial displays of corvid affection will include synchronised flight and flamboyant exhibitions of flight skills. They will dive, twirl, "dance" with each other and even fly upside down. Once they have romanced each other, they will create a nest out of found objects such as sticks or wool in a high place such as a rock ledge or high in a tree. Since they like shiney objects, you may find things like tinsel, jewellery or fabric with a high sheen in the nest.

When the greenish speckled eggs are laid (about 3 of them, though there could be as many as 7) the ravenish couple will be devoted parents. The mother incubates the eggs and the father will hunt for both of them. When the chicks hatch, he will provide for them as well. The clutch will take about three weeks to hatch. The new fuzzy chicks will take about 6 weeks to fledge (mature enough to fly and leave the nest) and they are on their own in no time. Then they will be as crafty, noisy and playful as their parents.

Even in death the raven is a social creature. When on of their own passes into the next life, the rest hold a little corvid funeral service which is very intriguing to watch. One raven will stand near the body as if he is guarding it and will sing alone. The rest of the group slowly circles around the body as if they are participating in some ancient ritual and then all groak mournfully as a group.

Ravens such as Connor are interesting and we can learn quite a lot from them if we try. It is high time we stopped only regarding them as harbingers of death, ambulance chasers and bringers of death. We need to start appreciating these intelligent birds for their unique contribution to the wonderful creation we call nature.

To return to the previous page, close the window