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Common Raven

Corvus corax

Description:

Ravens are one of the most intelligent species not only of birds but also in the animal world. These large black passerines hold one of the largest brains among birds. Their intelligence has been documented through multiple studies. For example, as mentioned in Wikipedia: Ravens are one of only four known animals (the others being bees, ants, and humans) who have demonstrated displacement, the capacity to communicate about objects or events that are distant in space or time from the communication. Young, unmated Common Ravens roost together at night, but usually forage alone during the day. However, when one discovers a large carcass guarded by a pair of adult Ravens, he will return to the roost and communicate his find. Their problem-solving ability has been tested in an experiment involving a piece of meat attached to a string hanging from a perch. To reach the food, the bird needed to stand on the perch, pull the string up a little at a time, and step on the loops to gradually shorten the string. Four of five Common Ravens eventually succeeded.This supports the hypothesis that Common Ravens are 'inventors'; that is, they have the ability to solve problems presented to them. They are also known to use "tools" in nature. They regularly hide the food they find if they cannot eat it immediately and return to it later. They have been seen even tricking other bird by making them believe they were caching food in one place to divert the possible thiefs who were observing them. They are also known to make calls to atract predators to a prey so that later they can profit eating on the carcass. They are also known to drop pieces of food in the roads so that they get smashed by cars, to them pick them back. They play with each other and they make their own toys. Finally, Ravens can mimic sounds from their environment, including human speech. If you wish to learn more about ravens please consider reading: Mind of the raven, by Bernd Heinrich (http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Mind-...) You will be amazed!

Habitat:

The bird in my spotting is called Freggel and he forms part of a flying exhibit (http://www.uilenhof.be/old/). In the wild you can find these birds in temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere. They prefer wooded areas although populations are also known to live close to urbanized areas, which are also an easy food supply for them.

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6 Comments

maplemoth662
maplemoth662 6 years ago

Four beautiful photos....

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

I will try and read those. These birds really are fascinating and very clever.

The MnMs
The MnMs 10 years ago

haha! Thanks Jemma! Actually that may be true because the juveniles really learn many things from their parents, older siblings and flock :-) I really recommend some books from Bernd Heinrich. Many things he said about them were really interesting!

Hema  Shah
Hema Shah 10 years ago

great portrait. i like the second one too.
i read an article that one should never get into the bad books of these birds. they will tell there children and pass it down generations .

The MnMs
The MnMs 10 years ago

Thanks, Steven! They are very interesting animals!

LuisStevens
LuisStevens 10 years ago

I like Ravens too.

The MnMs
Spotted by
The MnMs

Vlaanderen, Belgium

Spotted on Aug 18, 2013
Submitted on Sep 29, 2013

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