Ravens have always been a symbol of evil and death because of their dark plumage, harsh calls, and diet of dead animals.
In the past, most people thought these birds carried the souls of bad priests, damned people, murder victims who weren’t buried properly, or Satan. However, myths describe ravens as messengers for the gods, while Native American tribes see them as clever tricksters who helped create the world.
Today, we’ll share amazing facts about ravens that will truly impress you and hopefully, restore their reputation.
1. White Ravens Exist Because of a Rare Genetic Disorder
There’s a small population of white ravens near Qualicum Beach in Canada. They’re white because of leucism, a rare genetic disorder that causes reduced pigmentation.
Leucism occurs when black ravens with the same recessive gene for leucism produce offspring. This is very rare. In fact, it’s so rare that only a few white ravens appear each year. In 2010, just one was recorded.
Mike Yip, a local bird enthusiast, suggests that a pair of white ravens formed over a decade ago and have since produced many generations of white ravens. However, they don’t live as long or reproduce as well as black ravens.
2. Most Ravens Have Moral Values
Ravens have a strong sense of fairness and decency, often expelling “cheaters” from their groups. When they work together to share food and one raven takes more than the others, the other ravens lose trust and refuse to cooperate with that raven in the future.
Dr. Jorg Massen from the University of Vienna discovered this. He found that ravens successfully shared food equally over 60% of the time. However, if one raven took more than a fair share, the others would stop interacting with that raven.
It’s also been suggested that ravens have empathy for one another. For instance, when a raven loses a fight, other ravens will gather around to comfort the defeated bird.
3. They Use “Hand” Gestures to Communicate with Each Other
Ravens use “hand” gestures by pointing at or holding up objects to get each other’s attention. Apart from primates, no other wild animals communicate this way.
What’s interesting is that ravens usually use these gestures when they want to show something to the opposite sex. Ravens then interact by touching or clasping their bills or playing with the items together.
4. Ravens Exhibit Monogamy and Living in Pairs
Just like most people, ravens prefer monogamy and living in pairs. In fact, adult males often mate for life and fiercely protect their breeding territory.
They also build large nests with sticks, where females lay their eggs each spring. Both parents raise their young, who depend on them for several months.
Once youngsters become adolescents, they often leave their nest and form a group of their own.
Scientists examining the droppings of young ravens found that they contained more corticosterone, which is a stress hormone, than those of adults. This suggests that living in groups requires more energy than foraging with a partner or alone.
Researchers also believe that stress might be why most adults prefer monogamy over living in groups.
5. Ravens Can Plan Their Future
Maybe you don’t have a 5-year plan for the future but ravens most likely do! Joke aside, studies found that ravens can think ahead and plan for the future, which is incredible.
Researchers from Lund University concluded this after testing five captive ravens in tasks using tools and trading with humans, which is not something they do in the wild.
In one of the experiments, ravens were given tools to get a treat, with some tools being useful and others not. The ravens usually chose the right tool to get the treat and sometimes even saved a tool for later use.
In another test, ravens learned to trade a blue plastic bottle cap for a preferred treat. Even when the items changed, ravens still made successful trades. This research shows that ravens have advanced planning skills.
6. Jimmy the Raven Was a Hollywood Star Back in the Old Days
Jimmy the Raven was a Hollywood star who appeared in thousands of films from the 1930s to the 1950s. He learned a new word in a week and a two-syllable word in two weeks, understanding hundreds of words. Jimmy could also type, open letters, and ride a tiny motorcycle.
As Jimmy’s fame grew, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer insured him for $10,000 and paid him $500 weekly. He had 21 stand-ins, including 15 female ravens, for scenes that didn’t require special tricks. His footprints were honored in cement at a Los Angeles pet store.
7. Ravens Have Problem-Solving Capabilities
Ravens have problem-solving skills and they’re one of the most intelligent animals on Earth. In one experiment, a raven learned to retrieve meat hanging from strings after only six trials, while crows couldn’t figure it out even after 30 trials.
Studies have shown that their problem-solving abilities resemble those of people and some great apes.
Researchers Bernd Heinrich and Thomas Bugnyar found that some adult ravens could quickly plan and execute a series of steps in just 30 seconds, without needing trial and error.
8. Ravens Can Imitate Sounds and Remember Faces
Ravens, parrots, and crows often copy sounds from their surroundings, including human speech. In fact, they’re one of the animals that can talk like humans.
Female ravens usually make clapping or clicking noises. Furthermore, if a raven loses a mate, they may try to call the mate back by mimicking their calls.
In captivity, ravens can mimic different voices, but in the wild, they usually copy wolf and fox calls to lure them to dead animals.
Ravens also remember faces and hold grudges against cheaters.
9. Ravens and Wolves Share a Special Bond
Ravens and wolves have a special relationship that benefits both. Wolves hunt for food, but ravens help by scavenging the remains. When wolves leave a carcass, ravens arrive quickly. With only two wolves present, ravens can take up to 40% of the meat. With six wolves, ravens take about 17% of the meat.
This partnership works well for both animals. Ravens follow wolves to eat leftovers from their kills. Scientists even believe that wolves hunt in packs partly to share their kills with ravens. In exchange, ravens help wolves by leading them to carcasses that they can’t eat on their own and by alerting wolves to anything unusual while they eat.
10. They’re Not Endangered Like Most Birds
Ravens don’t face extinction as many other endangered birds. On the contrary, in the past decade, their numbers have been increasing in North America. For instance, the Mojave Desert has seen a huge 700 percent increase in ravens over the last 40 years.
While this is good news amid the larger bird decline in North America and Canada, where nearly three billion birds have disappeared since 1970, the raven increase might cause problems for desert tortoises, which ravens like to eat.
The growing raven population also threatens other vulnerable species, such as Marbled Murrelets and Least Terns.
Fun fact: While they share some physical features, ravens and crows aren’t the same.
11. Ravens Help Plant Trees by Spreading Seeds
Ravens help spread seeds through a process called endozoochory. When ravens eat fruits, they swallow the seeds, which travel through their digestive system. This process helps seeds survive and grow. As ravens fly around and explore, they drop the seeds in new places. This helps forests regenerate.
Fun fact: Seeds that pass through a raven’s digestive system often have a better chance of sprouting because the digestion softens their tough outer coating.
12. Befriending a Raven Might Not be a Good Idea
Crows and ravens cause power outages, damage satellite dishes, peel material from buildings, peck holes in airplane wings, steal golf balls, raid cars and nests, and attract rodents and other pests.
That being said, befriending a crow or raven isn’t a good idea. If you still want to do it, you can leave out seed, grain, pet food, or common foods birds eat.
