In researching a bit about ravens for this post, I learned that a group of ravens has many collective nouns,
including a bazaar, a constable, a rant, a storytelling and an unkindness of ravens. Who makes up this stuff?
Whoever decided to call them a rant of ravens was definitely on the right track, though,
because that's what this post is: a rant about ravens.
While I enjoy having them here and love to watch them jump around and play, they never shut up.
Their incessant gurgling croaks are so stinkin' loud, folks on the other end
of the phone line have questioned whether I've moved my office to a zoo.
I'd just as soon never hear them again. Quoth the rancher woman, "Nevermore."
Raven: Surely she can't mean me.
The rant of ravens that resides on the ranch is semi-used to the paparazzi, but the moment we make eye contact...
...off they go into the wild blue yonder.
While ravens are powerful enough to pick up an unsuspecting barn cat or chicken,
they leave Johnny and the girls alone, thank goodness.
And they are known to eat insects and rodents, so for that I am grateful.
You and me both. Try to make a video so I can compare their dialect to ours, which is the most awful assortment of screaming - some sound like babies crying, and it's every single day here. I'll try to get a video of ours when they "hold conference" at the walnut tree out my window. They are not just horribly loud, they poop in my troughs, and scatter manure making it hard to pick up. What they find in the manure, I have no idea, but it's their favorite. Do they actually help the ecosystem in anyway (not helped already by the hawks that the crows torment)? Do they land on the donkeys' backs and pull out their hair? Mine doesn't seem to mind it, even two crows at once. I've been attacked twice in my life by crows, both times in downtown Seattle.
ReplyDeleteYou are very tolerant! I might have to do a little discouraging with my BB gun. Is that SNOW on them thar hills?!
ReplyDeleteI think the haze is making the brown dirt on the hills look like snow. There's a fire up north and lots of smoke is in the air down here.
Deletethey are indeed a noisy bunch... they do the HA HA HA until we go out and scream at them... they pay no attention at all.
ReplyDeleteI once read that that a bunch of English Lords, drinking in a tavern, started making up names for groups of animals. "Gaggle" of geese, "Murder" of crows, etc. Ravens like to play in the wind currents, I even saw one do a deliberate somersault and then continue flying straight.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have any Chihuahuans here but it's hard to tell the difference.
ReplyDeletep.s. Thanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteIs that a morning dove doing a fly by on the Ravens in the first pic? Amelia?? Too bad that girl didn't stay.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the "don't like" list. That scream of theirs sends chills through me.
ReplyDeleteSo the difference between crows and ravens is that crows have British accents?
ReplyDeleteI would suggest reading Mind of a raven by Bernd Heinrich if you have the time or inclination. It has really great information on behaviors, calls, baby raising, etc. The book is scientific but Heinrich writes in such a way that everyone can grasp the different topics. It will definitely give you a new appreciation for ravens. ;)
ReplyDeletethese ravens make a rich complement to the animal diversity existing at 7MSN.
ReplyDeleteMy Raven, what big feet you have. I wish crows had British accents, then surely I would love them. If I was still married, the then husband would have shot up every single one of those ravens, including anything near them. Thankfully, I live a more civilized life now. Happy 4th Carson! I will be let loose, out of this Government cubicle (after 430pm today) for a week of movie watching and poolside reading. It is what I call a budget friendly staycation.
ReplyDeleteWonder what that one has in its beak in the second picture? Looks slightly square?
ReplyDeleteThey do make the strangest sounds. I still think they're cool birds.
All I can say, is that you are lucky you do not live smack dab in the middle of the finch migration.
ReplyDeleteThey're incredibly smart birds, too and have elephant-like memories, so be careful that you don't tick them off because they Will remember.
ReplyDeleteI think a group of crows is a "murder"...therefore you have a murder of crows. I actually enjoy ravens. I often see them soaring by Deep Canyon and sometimes they are out in the desert. We have a pair that has a nest across the street and once in a while the mockingbirds will go after the ravens, so I assume they have stolen an egg from the nest! They are quite comical, I think.
ReplyDeleteCheryl Ann
I've also heard them called a conspiracy of Raven,s which matches mine around here down in Oz. They can be loud but sometimes they also get to muttering quietly amongst themselves. I wonder what they are plotting? :)
ReplyDelete