Raven

Raven (Corvus corax)

Each day around 4pm a raven passes over my house. Occasionally it stops on top of the nearby pylon and calls. Its deep, kraa call means I can hear it coming, long before I see it.

Today it passed over just as the sun was setting.

A few facts about Raven’s.

• Ravens mate for life and live in pairs in a territory.
• Young raven’s live together in flocks, until they mate and pair off.
• The Raven’s lifespan is between 25 and 30 years
• In the UK there are breeding 7,400 pairs
• Ravens raise only one brood a year, between three and seven young
• The collective noun for a group of raven’s is a CONSPIRACY of Raven’s
• Raven’s are able to solve problems, with the same ability as dolphins or chimpanzees.
• Raven’s can imitate sounds such as car engines, they can also imitate other animal sounds such as foxes.
• Raven’s make a “comfort sound”, this is a soft warbling sound a mating pair will make to each other.
• Raven’s protect the Tower of London – Should the ravens ever leave, the tower and the monarchy would fall.
• Raven’s can hold a grudge. When researchers gave raven’s food the raven preferred the researcher who had previously shown themselves to be fair in their interactions over a researcher who had cheated them in the past
• Simone Pika discovered that wild raven’s use their beaks to gesture to each other. They use their beaks similar to hands to show and offer objects such as moss, stones and twigs