5 Things Ravens Do

[Music] five things Ravens do that is either very rare or not done by any other animal or bird here's five unique attributes of Ravens number five Ravens pair up homestead their own specific area and work that area together sometimes til death do us part now notice there are three parts to this pairing up staying together in a specific area and make that four life each of these three things alone in the animal kingdom is fairly easy to find but all three together are quite rare there are other birds to pair up we even think some of them for life but they move about and migrate many animals will stake out a specific area together for a season or while raising their young together but few will do it till death do us part this makes it easy for me to study the birds over a long period of time there are other researchers who have spent a lot of time studying Ravens but many studies I've read have been with birds that have been moved caged or influenced by human interaction don't think it means what our report about the birds is better or superior it just makes it different see I get to study the Crystal Cove Birds completely wild in their own chosen natural environment day by day so some of my conclusions and findings about the birds are different from other researchers I've read as I said earlier this is not a scientific study per se but having been trained as a scientist it's impossible not to use the proven reliable scientific methods of observation test-retest hypothesized theorized and compared conclusions when it comes to dealing with things best looked at through a scientific lens now let's come to number four Ravens pass things beat to claw and back again while flying now I didn't find this I was told this by other researchers and sure enough I see it happen with Ravens everywhere I go and I've watched but I have never seen another bird do it I did see a crow do one pass from claw to beak but that was it just one time just one time my observation would lead me to believe that Ravens seemed to do it for two reasons first because they seemed to be playing with whatever it is they're carrying second because they've decided it might be better to tease another raven with it here no here perhaps it's better here but it's just a guess the crow of Catalina thank you that was perfect good timing guys number three Ravens make and mimic more sounds than any other animal in the entire kingdom thank you I've also heard amazing stories from others how about three two one and then the blasting sound of dynamite or the sound of a chainsaw deep in the forest where no chainsaws are allowed the Ranger wondered if the Raven understood the joke he was playing how about in the middle of nowhere a latrine flushes or dogs are barking cat sounds water sounds mules brain and the list goes on and on all these things made by Ravens all by themselves in secluded areas I too wonder if they sometimes get it or if it's just a coincidence my favorite was a story told by an employee at wild things in Salinas California one night she was closing up and heard someone telling a joke and then two people laughing together she searched in vain and then hid and soon discovered it was the Raven thank you number two Ravens have a one-of-a-kind dive that all Ravens repeat in every area I've ever been to and yet I can't recall ever seen another bird doing the same dive these Ravens do what they do is fold their wings roll over dive towards the Earth and then write themselves again all seemingly for fun it's not limited to sex the guys do it and then the girls do it right afterwards you do want to huh you do want to okay let me show you what it looks like from the birds point of view if you're prone to motion sickness I suggest you close your eyes just about now another fascinating thing about this is it's strictly the adults that do this in all the years I have never seen one of the young or even the juveniles ready to leave ever do this so I'm assuming they don't even bother to or learn to or care to do this until after they've left their parents care I find this dive absolutely fascinating I call it the bomb and in all the years I've watched their closest relative The Crow I've never seen a crow do it I've seen a crow roll over and dived to attack a hawk or a raven but I've never seen a crow Fulda swings roll over and dive let it alone repeat the dive over and over again like a raven does and with absolutely no apparent reason to do this other than perhaps to have fun I have hundreds of these dives reported from Ravens all over the western United States double dive and nothing not one from any other bird anywhere if you find different please send me a copy I'd love to see it just like that just like that do it again there we go now I needed well there we go that was a whale and now the number one unique thing I find about Ravens is Ravens gather to play there are a number of interesting scenarios where Ravens will gather to play the adults will forego territorial boundaries when there's a really good wind picking up and numerous neighboring adults will gather to ride the thermals together by mid summer the kids start getting braver and venture out and we'll also meet and play together daily we spend a little time up in the hills up behind the park whoa whoa did you see that in this area no couple seems to have this territory all to themselves so a number of families will sometimes gather here and they'll all play together it's a nice move now we got a chase now he's got somebody chasing of course if somebody finds something specific the game just gets more intense look at that he keeps passing it back and forth from his mouth to his feet not sure which way he wants to carry it I love to watch him do that see that it's the only bird I know that does that but see how he passes back and forth look at that he goes and he teases goes look what I got yeah dopes uh-huh and he just keeps passing back and forth like he's teasing the other siblings that's what Huey used to do with the crows except the crows were more relentless up something something's in the air now I can hear it I can tell by their calls something's in the air they don't like so I don't know if the red-tailed hawk is coming back then there's what I call the great gatherings and this is where many hundreds to thousands gather together and play the most amazing gathering I saw was out at the Grand Canyon in 2004 I'll never forget it because it was Friday and it was my birthday and we were leaving and heading to design on that morning a little ways into the journey out I noticed quite a few Ravens coming at us from the rim side of the canyon and then just as many going on the opposite side on the forest side I pulled over at the next turnout and I couldn't believe what was before me many hundreds perhaps thousands of Ravens all playing in a fairly strong wind over the canyon many hundreds of Ravens were riding against the wind following each other through all kinds of loops twists and turns it looked like a huge black moving roller coaster over a mile long that was magically suspended midair parallel to the canyon rim the Ravens on the other side were beeline at full speed straight as an arrow this time with the wind to their backs over the forest tops again for over a mile but flying to get back in line to ride the roller coaster again and again and again I've never seen or heard of anything quite like it since unfortunately this was before I had a video camera I have a few stills but they're late in the game and so they don't come close to what I actually saw I had to wonder where they all come from how did these Ravens know or decide to meet here this isn't for food this isn't to mate they seem to just gather together just to play there this is what I really love about Ravens nice oh my god can you do that again thank you oh look at that trying to catch talons there [Music] when I started this project 15 years ago I thought I could tell a story and then like all stories there would be an end the problem with these birds is the story never really ends and there's always more to learn from the Raven you can keep up with our continuing animal adventures on our YouTube channel the raven diaries all one word and then get out there and make some of your own [Music] you

Channel: theravendiaries

Views: 499,814

Keywords: ravens, animal behavior, unique behavior, play

Id: yCkELrxCl70

Length: 16min 16sec (976 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 08 2018