The

Common Raven

King of the Dinosaurs

Contents

Preface
One Two Three Some Natural History The Raven in Folklore The Raven in Art

Preface
Last Saturday my wife and I were out for a smoke in an early December morning reluctantly embracing the coldest day of the winter so far. We live in Morden, Manitoba and cold here means a brisk -27 degrees Celsius. As we carried on with our morning chat my ears caught hold of a sound not familiar to these parts generally. It could be mistaken for a crows caw at a distance but something told me that perhaps ravens had come to visit Morden that morning. I said to my wife that I must go investigate and went around the house to see if I was right. Gazing skyward I was rewarded with one of natures beautiful sights; at least to me. Far above me in the crisp blue sky were two pairs of ravens performing a graceful aerial display complete with their accompanying calls. They had at first sounded like crows to me due to the great altitude they had attained while flying over us. I excitedly exclaimed to my wife that indeed they were ravens for I have never seen crows, nor any other bird for that matter, fly in that manner. Ravens fly much like otters play I had always thought; just for the sheer joy of it.

It must have been -40 degree Celsius up there but those hearty birds appeared to be having the time of their lives. As I shivered there earthbound I became inspired to finally attempt to compile this work on Corvus corax; the Common Raven. I have been fascinated with ravens since my early teens though at the time I thought all large black birds were crows, as do most folks. One summer in the Slocan Valley of British Columbias southern interior my friend and I tried our hand at mastering the slingshot. As teenage boys are wont to do we selected the large black birds perched high in the cedars as a target. Our aim had progressed with our new weapon and we could confidently snipe stationary targets such as stop signs and the like. But try as we might we could not bring down these darn birds. It seemed they would look at us as we aimed and casually side-step each missile launched towards them. We moved on to easier game and I gave those birds little thought for nearly a decade. As a student in my early twenties taking anthropology at the University of Manitoba I went on vacation with a friend to the Canadian Rockies. Somewhere between Banff and Jasper we shared a quick lunch of cheese and crackers beside a picturesque gorge, enjoying a reprieve from the highway. Before long we were joined by two large black birds that landed mere feet from our impromptu picnic. One of the newcomers boldly approached us as if demanding a levy for intruding on this beautiful spot. I complied and shaved a large chunk of cheese with my jackknife and offered it to our swarthy visitor. Seemingly satisfied the bird made off with the submission and promptly hopped over to its companion and surrendered the newly won prize. Then the two flew off down the valley. My friend and I agreed that this was an interesting encounter and also that these were ravens and not crows. A few years later I again found myself in the Canadian Rockies driving back to Calgary from Banff along with my uncle and cousin. As we slowed to approach the turnoff to Canmore my uncle looked past me out the drivers side window and said simply Look!. I did of course and to my left; hanging as if suspended in mid-air, was a raven gliding parallel to our vehicle some 20 feet away. Spectacular. The fellow had a vole of sorts dangling in his beak as well and I watched as he matched us for several seconds until I had to return to navigating the car.

ONE Some Natural History

Ravens are the largest member of the corvids; a family of birds that also includes crows, jays and magpies. All corvids in turn are members of the group called passerines, the perching birds. They are the largest, most diverse and the last bird group to evolve and the raven stands out among them. Ravens are large birds, surpassing most hawks in size with a wingspan of four feet and weighing nearly __lbs. In a 1994 issue of Canadian Geographic Lakehead University naturalist Scott Kyle says that Ravens are the bikers of the bird world. Theyre big, theyre black and theyre mean.

TWO The Raven in Folklore

The raven appears in the mythologies and pantheons of cultures around the world.

THREE The Raven in Art

The raven is celebrated in mans art in a host of cultures and geographic regions.