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| The Common Raven (Corvus corax) swooped by as I got too close to its nesting tree. |
Oh the poor Common Raven (
Corvus corax)! It is big and black and binges on road kill. To the species that created the white leisure suit, the speedo, and the need to wear one's pants sagging below one's gluteus maximus, the Raven is sadly devoid of bling. It is however, highly intelligent, which is more than I can say for the designers of the afore mentioned fashion disasters. I must be a good little fashionista however, because the Raven, while common in Colorado, just does not draw my eye. I see this bird quite a lot, and hear its raucous cry even more, but my mind glazes over at the mere thought that it is only a mere Raven.
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| The typical profile of a Raven...perched in a tree, its large beak dominating its face. |
The Norse god Odin would be ticked off -- in the way that only gods with lightening bolts can be -- if he knew of my professed ennui towards his favorite birds. His pets Huginn and Muninn traveled the world spying on us humans. Odin was not the only god to love Ravens. They are featured prominently in many cultures as tricksters, lost souls, and the ghoulish familiars of evil-minded spirits. Geesh, and this is just a bird!
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| The Raven is very acrobatic with large and visually obvious flight feathers. |
Non-mythological Ravens have been known to frolic in the snow like children, chatter incessantly on light poles like teenagers, and finally settle down with the right girl for life. They can mimic human speech but their cawing, screeching, and shrieking sounds more like the political banter on Fox News and CNN. There are times I yearn for the mute button. An indiscriminate eater, they will consume garbage, road kill, insects, small rodents, berries, and nuts. The world is one big buffet to the Raven, which is why we have not managed to wipe it out just yet.
I captured the images of this Raven along a creek. It was defending its territory every time a cyclist rode by, which probably means it was part of a nesting pair.
