Feature Article January 8, 2003
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The "Uncommon Raven" The bird we see flying over, near dumps, near road kills, in winter or summer, in fact over a wide range of the northern hemisphere is correctly called the Common Raven. But this is a bird of extraordinary intelligence, one with a sense of humour, one capable of surviving an Arctic winter, adaptable, cunning, and found in literature, myth and legends throughout recorded history. It has been determined that the area of its brain responsible for learning is highly evolved compared to most other birds. The Common Raven is an uncommon bird.
In the Bible the raven was one of the two birds released from the ark by Noah. Shakespeare had the raven appear as an image of doom in Julius Caesar and Macbeth, yet as benevolent nurses to a poor babe and forlorn children in A Winters Tale and Titus Andronicus. Dickens employed it as a character of amusement, while Poe made it appear as a prophet of lost love and doom. In some countries it is thought to portend death, yet in others it signifies life and creation. Its legends include one that implies that blind people who are kind to ravens will regain their sight, and another that a hunter who eats the hearts of a raven will become an expert shot. There have been tame ravens in the Tower of London since the 11th century, and superstition says that their loss or death will be an omen of Britains downfall.
The Haida peoples of the west coast have given it dual significance - as a bird with supernatural power and wisdom - or as a meddling, greedy, foolish bird, but in one of their most reverent legends the Raven is the Creator, creating humanity, light, lakes and rivers, salmon, tides, and able to take any form, from fish to leaf to rock or human being.
It is without a doubt a most resourceful bird, eating seeds, berries and insects in summer, but in winter scavenging from dumps, road kills, or a kill of another predator. When more food is available than they can eat at the time, ravens cache, or hide, their food and retrieve it later. It is thought to mate for life, forming pairs through elaborate courtship displays that involve crouching and shaking the wings and tail. Ravens use many calls to communicate with each other and can imitate other animals, even humans. Their most common call is a long drawn out "croak", but they employ a number of vocalizations - a language we do not understand.
Sometimes confused with crows, they are larger. They soar, whereas crows flap or occasionally glide, or perform somersaults, barrel rolls, or even fly upside down. The tip of a ravens tail is wedge-shaped with a shallow point, whereas the crows is more or less flat across the end. Watch for them during the winter as they search for food, then in March or April watch for their courtship flight as they prepare for breeding.
Observations: I had two Northern Flying Squirrels coming to my bird feeders December 28 and 29, and saw a Great Horned Owl silhouetted against the sky in mid-afternoon, just east of Maberly on December 28. Does anyone have Evening Grosbeaks, Goldfinch, or Redpolls? Please phone me with what you have seen. Jean Griffin at 268-2518.
