Many large black birds of the genus Corvus are called ravens. Other birds in the same genus are the smaller crows, jackdaws, and rooks.
Raven species include:
- the Common Raven (C. corax), detailed below;
- the Australian Raven (C. coronoides);
- the Forest Raven (C. tasmanicus);
- the Little Raven (C. mellori);
- the Thick-billed Raven (C. crassirostris);
- the White-necked Raven (C. albicollis);
- the Brown-necked Raven (C. ruficollis) and
- the Chihuahuan Raven (C. cryptoleucos).
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Raven may also refer specifically to the Common Raven (Corvus corax). Common Ravens are large black birds with iridescent feathers. The bill is curved. At maturity, they are between 60 and 78cm (24 to 27 inches) in length, with wings that are double that.
Apart from their greater size, Ravens differ from their cousins the crows by having larger and heavier beaks, and with a deeper and more varied caw. Other field points are the thick throat and wedge-shaped tail.
Ravens can thrive in varied climates. They range from the Arctic to the deserts of North Africa, and to islands in the Pacific Ocean. Most ravens prefer wooded areas near coasts and in mountains for their nesting sites.
Mated ravens tend to nest together for life. The pair will build a nest on cliff ledges or in trees. The nest is made of whatever materials may have caught the builders' eyes. Ravens are known for their love of shiny objects. The female will lay from three to seven pale bluish-green, brown-blotched eggs. Both parents keep the eggs warm, and take turns feeding the chicks.
Ravens have a varied diet. They will eat anything edible, including insects, berries, fruit, other birds' eggs, carrion, and the garbage from human homes. They also kill small birds and mammals, including young rabbits and rats.
Experiments have shown that ravens are able of using tools; an experiment, where some desirable item lay on the bottom of a bottle, showed that some ravens were able to form a hook to reach the item.
Like other crows (corvids), ravens can copy sounds from their environment, including human speech.
The raven has long been of interest to creators of myths and legends. The raven was used as a symbol of rampage by the Vikings, who loved to paint them on their sails. In Norse mythology, the ravens Hugin and Munin sat on the god Odin's shoulders, and told him the news of the world. The Old English word for a raven was hraefn; in Old Norse it was hrafn; the word was frequently used in combinations as a kenning for bloodshed and battle.
Natives of north-western North America consider Raven the Creator of the World.
There is a legend that England will not fall to a foreign invader as long as there are ravens at the Tower of London; the government now maintains several birds on the grounds of the tower, either for insurance or to please tourists (or both).
Image link
- Raven (http://www.furry.org.au/corvus/raven%20sitting.jpg)
- Raven skull (http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~wjh101/hedbone/Birds/raven.jpg)
The raven Grip is an important character in Charles Dickens' Barnaby Rudge[?]. Edgar Allan Poe also used the raven as a supernatural messenger in his poem "The Raven". In both works, the bird's powers of speech is important. News-bearing ravens also appear in The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien. The raven is the official bird of Yukon.
The Raven is also the title of a periodical produced on an occasional basis by Freedom Press
The Raven is also the name of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe.
Raven is an adjective describing things that are shiny and black like a raven's feathers.