(Photo: Lipton, 2015)
Cortes Species Highlight: Common Raven
— by Shannon Hogan, 3 October 2022
Ravens have lived alongside humans for a very long time. They are embedded in many cultures’ folklore and mythology, and they continue to live alongside us today. Honestly, they’ll probably survive us! Although you may see or hear this bird every day, and although it may have “common” in its name, this spectacular bird is anything but.
Stories of olde have ingrained the raven into our mind’s eye as an ill omen. We’ve seen them depicted as a witch’s familiar, flying past a foggy and ominous full moon with a broomstick riding witch. Maybe the endless depictions of Edgar Allen Poe’s poems convinced you that the raven has a harrowing nature. Or perhaps you’ve just seen them eating something dead on the side of the road and thought to yourself, “ew.” A raven could be all those things, but they are definitely so much more.
These birds are considered many things: large, confident, bold, playful, and agile, but above all, they are incredibly intelligent. They work in pairs to hunt, mimic sounds and human speech and are known as the Tricksters in First Nations traditions. So tricky in fact, the Raven somehow figured out how to create the land, release the poor humans from the cockle shell and even bring them what we needed most: fire! This trickiness would explain why scientists have studied their intelligence levels so deeply. They discovered that a four‑month-old raven could rival the intelligence of a fully adult ape! They are even known to remember human faces.
Always remember to say “hello” and “good day” to a raven, just to be sure you stay on their good side!
Click these links to learn more about the Common Raven:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/overview
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/common-raven
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/young-ravens-rival-adult-chimps-in-a-big-test-of-general-intelligence/
https://ravenreads.org/blogs/news/the-raven-in-haida-culture
We would love to hear about and post your experiences with any of Cortes’ local flora and fauna! Please submit your short story and tell us something fun about your favourite species by reaching out to us at: friendsofcortesisland@gmail.com.
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