Ravens - Intelligent Rascals of the Skies | Free Documentary Nature

[Music] huh plumage is usually an elegant black or shades of grey [Music] some however prefer a bit of color [Music] but all of them are songbirds and unusually intelligent particularly the largest among them the common raven who is also a gifted flyer way back in ancient times ravens were known for their intelligence the ancient greeks and romans and in particular the norse tribes considered them to be birds of the gods ordin highest of the norse gods sent both his ravens hugin and moonin out into the world to collect information for him it said that from time to time ordin even transformed himself into a raven ravens were symbols of wisdom and age-old knowledge along with wolves they held the highest position in norse mythology as divine creatures [Music] but things were not to remain that way in europe the onset of the middle ages marked the beginning of a sinister period in more ways than one attitudes towards ravens changed drastically superstition and prejudice replaced the age-old awareness of their intelligence from now on they were considered birds of death and it was thought that they were in league with the devil [Laughter] widespread and long lasting wars together with devastating outbreaks of the plague provided an enormous amount of food for ravens [Music] these black-coloured birds were not only thought of as omens of bad luck but even the cause of evil itself [Music] battlefields lay strewn with bodies for weeks and months attracting scavengers such as wolves and vultures and of course ravens too and as if that were not enough an arbitrary and cruel justice system spread throughout europe providing even more for them to scavenge the clever birds that had been sacred to the germanic tribes fell increasingly into disrepute and were hunted down massively and so the once revered birds of the gods became outcasts symbols of death and depravity [Music] satan himself it was claimed appeared at the galas in the form of a raven to feed on the corpses or fly away with the souls of the hand [Music] today though a new image of the raven is gradually establishing itself their extraordinary intelligence is [Music] [Music] fascinating [Music] raven calls ravens watching ravens flying what's going on here biologists at the conrad lawrence research station in grunau austria a field office of the university of vienna are on their way to feed the wild boar in the cumberland wildlife park it's not just the wild boar who are waiting for breakfast common ravens come here too every morning to collect their share in winter when food is in short supply they come in particularly large numbers a good place then to study the behavior of wild ravens approximately 90 common ravens have been marked with coloured ships here in almtal and as a result they can be studied individually ravens spend their early years in juvenile groups of up to 300 birds because to date so little is known about the social structures of these birds a team at the conrad lawrence research institute are studying the subject friendships and even close bonds and partnerships are formed during these early years but only when a pair is able to occupy new territory of their own do they leave the group common ravens are known for their intense playfulness a clear indication of their intelligence [Music] social and family interaction among these birds is equally pronounced common ravens maintain friendships over many years and pairs remain together for life [Music] the biologist anna brown is preparing an experiment elias and colombo the two ravens in the aviary observe her work attentively they follow every step exactly ready the so-called string experiment can begin elias doesn't wait a moment straight away he jumps onto the branch where the snack is hanging immediately he starts to pull the string up the bird knows that he can only get the food he wants this way from below he would never be able to reach it so ilias uses the string to get the food this kind of behavior is typical of ravens they understand the connections and relationships between things and act accordingly at the university of cambridge new caledonian ravens even work with tools they've built themselves an ability that was long considered unique to primates in the neighboring aviary the young birds are already waiting for anna brown today is a day for games and the young birds are already getting impatient the ravens play with the toys just like small children do first of all they examine them and then they play as they like after play the precious objects are hidden to make sure that the others can't take them away a good covering of snow and the others will never find it that's what you think a chum was watching and wants the toy for himself no way romo digs the toy out of its hiding place himself hold on a moment what's going on here as the toy disappeared rumor goes and checks the other side perhaps he pushed it in too far eventually anna brown comes to help four eyes see better than two but the toy appears to have fallen too far into the crevice neither bird nor scientist can get to it but the young raven is not willing to accept that his precious toy is gone anna brown doesn't give up either and finally she's lucky with rumors help she's able to rescue the toy the raven is very pleased gymnastics class is great fun too even if not everyone in the group is up to it once again rumo is the daredevil one push and the carousel gets going a playful young raven can't get enough of this kind of fun come on [Music] the alps one of the most inhospitable places in europe particularly in winter [Music] most animals leave the upper alps in autumn or hibernate for several months under a protective blanket of snow only humans felt the urge to come up here at this time of the year but they didn't remain alone for long ski tourism was quickly followed by the alpine chuffs but suddenly there was an attractively abundant food supply on sunny days when the terraces are open flocks of hungry alpine chuffs join the crowds of skiers to begin with somewhat shy the elegant stunt flyers become less timid and take their places alongside the other guests their dark black plumage and yellow beaks are reminiscent of oversized male black birds [Music] faced with so many birds some may feel reminded of hitchcock's famous thriller the birds as with all types of crow the alpine chuffs are both curious and wary of strangers but they have learned that tourists are not a threat alpine chuffs are typical alpine birds up in the remote crags they rear their young at the onset of winter though they move to milder locations only returning to their breeding places to sleep after their meal the birds take off and make use of the warm air currents alpine chuffs communicate using special calls and by tilting their wings to pass on flight directions and exchange other information while up in the mountains winter conditions are still tough down in the valley spring has arrived a group of carrion crows lands on this meadow every afternoon they're attracted by the rich supply of earthworms and the first insects a real feast after the sparse fare of winter the carrion crow is probably the most well known and common type of crow in central europe it looks similar to the common raven but is much smaller and lacks their strong beak the discovery of something delicious to eat seldom remains a secret from the group at once the others hurry over and not just because they're jealous they're also curious to know what is so interesting in this case the object of interest is a nut a fight is imminent because nuts are number one on the ravens list of delicacies the finder will be lucky if he can hang on to his spoils frantically the crow tries to crack open the nut but he keeps rolling away so there's no alternative but to hide it now the others are closing in a sort of mock fight another attempt to hide it better this time and then pretend there's nothing going on but crows have very good eyes and what's more they understand what they see and so the whole thing starts again finally the hiding place is discovered and now there's no stopping them the next fight is brewing in the end a cunning outsider finds the object of desire however since his position within the group is not a strong one he has no choice but to fly off with a nut as far and as quickly as he can [Music] but they also live in our cities brooks run through the traffic as if they understand traffic regulations there are few habitats in which the crow cannot survive amazing how well the birds understand the traffic there are rarely any accidents in the cathedral city of limburg there's a long-standing colony of rooks as early as march they begin building their nests rooks are easy to recognize by the gray feathers at the base of their beaks that always seem to make them look a bit old they collect nesting material from the surroundings or directly from the street why bother flying for miles when there's so much good material nearby brooks thrive in areas where humans farm until a century ago the farming land of europe was home to huge colonies comprising several hundred thousand birds but merciless hunting has reduced their numbers in many places by up to 90 percent even in eastern europe these days numbers are dwindling the first step is always the hardest stabilizing the heavy branches is no easy task but the colony is growing steady the first nests are finished and the residents have moved in this rook doesn't have the typical grey face normally this is only the case with young birds breeding in the city has its advantages the rooks are fairly safe from predators what's more the colony offers protection for the brooding females and their chicks but the colony also has its disadvantages rooks are pretty inventive and completely unscrupulous when it comes to stealing nesting material from their neighbors an almost finished nest can quickly turn into a sad ruin and all of a sudden the once proud owner looks very frustrated these birds also brewed in colonies and like to be near their bigger relations the jackdaws are the smallest of the crow family they are easy to recognize by their black foreheads and the steel grey head feathers jackdaws love chimneys and they like to build their nests in chimney stacks unfortunately they don't always check first to see if they are still in use rooks and jackdaws once inhabited the steps these days though they've abandoned the nomadic life and mostly live near humans in order to search for food they leave the city and roam the fields and meadows often rocks and jackdaws swarm across the countryside together in particular the smaller jackdaws benefit from this partnership the larger birds protect them from attacks by birds of prey such as peregrine falcons sparrowhawks or goshawks you do have to look twice to see the small grey birds among the large black rooks in the flock doesn't just protect them from enemies it also helps in the search for food the birds observe each other constantly and so can profit from their comrades successes here too the small jackdaws benefit from the company of the large rooks their large beaks are particularly efficient at digging for insects and seeds [Laughter] the clever jack doors glean any leftovers a much easier way of finding food than digging for themselves juvenile carrion crows can quite often be found in the group their beaks are not as pointed and strong and they lack the grey facial colouring of the rooks [Laughter] these mixed flocks of crows only occur in autumn and winter in early spring more and more of them leave the flock and fly off to their nesting grounds to get on with the business of breeding but what is a jackdaw doing by the sea [Music] the island of nordenai off the north coast of germany is home to seagulls and waders like the eurasian oyster catcher and thousands of rabbits long ago humans brought these long-eared creatures to the island as a source of food they immediately felt at home in the wide sandy dunes and the population exploded [Music] the light sandy soil is particularly suitable for digging burrows and there's more than enough food apparently the jackdaws haven't forgotten the steps of their ancestors they use abandoned rabbit burrows on the island as nesting holes a rabbit's burrow is nearly as cozy as a chimney stack just so long as it's nice and deep and dark jackdaws are also highly intelligent and have a very complex social and group structure conrad lawrence the famous behavioral scientist and nobel prize winner studied them in detail within the colony there is a clear hierarchy a wide repertoire of gestures and sounds helps the birds resolve conflict within the group successfully and they get on famously with their long-eared neighbors males and females remain together for life it's often possible to recognize pairs by their synchronized movements this pair is showing intruders where they consider the boundary of their territory to be if threatening gestures don't settle matters then sometimes a fight ensues no one ever gets hurt though because jack doors are bound not only by strong family ties but also by a strong sense of community the argument is quickly forgotten and they get on with their daily business breeding has begun and there are more important things to do than fight with neighbors it is the end of april in limburg the female rooks are also sitting on their nests in the meantime the males stand guard fetch food from the fields and meadows outside the city mostly worms and other small animals this pear already seems to have chicks their beaks are stuffed with food rooks stow their food in pouches that hang like small bags under their beaks to begin with the males hand over the food to the females who then feed the youngsters themselves later both parents feed their young together [Music] this chick has already got its first downy feathers the bright red gullet is typical for members of the crow and raven family it serves as a key stimulus for the parents to fill it with food during the first days of life the chicks are permanently guarded and kept warm by their parents later the colony guards them just one cry numerous birds rush to help [Music] the young rooks spend a good 30 days in the nest and afterwards they continue to be fed by their parents for a further six weeks sometimes well into august crows make exceptional parents after meal time it's time for a sleep feeding is tiring work at this age [Music] combo castle in the south of germany a huge abbey with a thousand years of history and a typical place to find jackdaws in 1960 over 50 breeding pairs lived here then disaster struck people began covering the towers and niches with wire leaving the jackdaws with few remaining breeding places and so in 1990 nesting boxes were installed with success today over 30 pairs of jackdaws rear their young in combo castle young jackdaws need secure nesting holes to protect them from predators like birds of prey martins and owls but the success of the brood depends upon other factors bad weather and a lack of insects can have a negative effect as can the inexperience of young parents [Music] while rearing their chicks the adult birds are constantly underway as long as the chicks are small they only really eat insects so it's important that there's a meadow near the jackdaw colony the greatest dangers arise when the youngsters leave the nest between 60 and 70 percent die within the first five months [Music] jackdaws don't find the same good living conditions everywhere due to the loss of breeding grounds and the intensive forestry and farming practiced in central europe their numbers have dropped dramatically in baden-wurttemberg in germany alone numbers have gone from 3 000 pairs in 1960 to only 1 000 pairs today a worrying trend that has since spread throughout the whole of europe hans ulrich schtuber runs a jackdaw refuge in the area around schwebisch thanks to his work numerous nesting boxes have been built and towers churches and old buildings made accessible for the jackdaws again in order to monitor the population schtuber tags the birds every year the situation this year is fairly good the young jackdaws mainly feed on flying insects like cocktails summer chafers and grasshoppers there are plenty of them around this year we often have broods of four chicks just like these who are about 16 to 17 days old very round bellies so they appear to be very well fed on average the adult birds have approximately four chicks which all go on to leave the nest there are a lot of old nesting sites in the region which become depopulated and which have now been re-colonized today hans ulrich stuber looks after about 180 pairs of birds and is internationally renowned as an expert on jackdaws when he began his work in 1988 population numbers were at their lowest levels since then they have increased steadily from april to june the police officer is always out and about using his free time to check document and ring the birds looks good the hearts nature reserve in germany high above the ancient forests of the future the king of the ravens the common raven circles the area [Music] mated pairs of common ravens like to remain in the same territory for life with a wingspan of up to 1 meter 30 and a body length of 65 centimeters ravens are the largest songbirds in the world it's mid-may in the nest high up on the cliff two fledglings are waiting impatiently for their parents finally one of the adults lands with a full beak now just before their first flight the two chicks are always hungry they're about six weeks old but they've not yet dared to take off into the unknown back in march the female common raven laid two eggs and incubated them for three weeks the two chicks have developed magnificently this year the supply of food was good in a forest clearing the entrails of a short bore lie on the grass common ravens are omnivores and fresh carrion is very attractive otherwise at this time of year they catch small animals in particular mice but also chicks insects and earthworms in a few days the youngsters will leave the nest afterwards the family will remain together until late summer during this period the young ravens learn a lot from their parents until the 1980s the common raven was almost extinct in most parts of mid-europe only thanks to strict protection measures as the population of this impressive bird been able to recover a beech grove near schlieswick in northern germany is on his way to one of his raven nests since 1984 this biologist has studied and tagged young common ravens in order to reach the ravens he has to climb dizzying heights of 20 to 30 meters the nests are located high up in the trees finding the right moment is imperative if the chicks are more than four weeks old they would try to escape from the nest which could prove fatal runecorn's research territory is two thousand square kilometers in size his data provides valuable biological information about the common raven as well as information about its protection in order not to disturb the birds too much grincol leaves as quickly as possible the chicks are fairly stable but the adult birds are not at all happy about the visitor and then the phase begins when the birds slowly leave the nest and flit around in the top of the tree perhaps a short flight to the neighboring tree and back again we'll see that for the next two or three weeks in about a month the family will then fly as a group five birds three youngsters and two adults we'll see them circling above the forest and bit by bit they will venture out into the surrounding areas on nod and i the young island jack doors are almost fully fledged they spend most of their time sitting at the entrance of the nest the bright blue eyes are typical as they get older the color slowly changes to light gray the chicks are getting restless they've heard their parents and are looking forward to a good meal carefully the adult jackdaw approaches the nest on foot his beak full of food and then there's no stopping them insects form the main part of their diet then as they get older they eat grain and seeds too in a few days the chicks which are already almost five weeks old will take off and explore the island norden i is a paradise not just for jacktails excitement amongst the rooks in limburg the first chicks have left their nests and are flitting over the roofs and through the trees and incessant squawking fills the city air [Music] the chicks will keep their typical black faces until they molt in autumn this gives them complete freedom of movement within the colony and ensures them the protection of the adult birds life slowly gets back to normal for the parent birds nonetheless they'll look after their chicks for about another six weeks and prepare them for independence back to the region of hearts in germany an adult bird circles above the spruce forests and observes the surroundings closely then it turns and flies towards the forest clearing [Music] the young ravens have left their nest on the cliff and are searching for food with their parents a young bird carries off a chunk of meat to hide it typical behavior for ravens whatever can't be eaten straight away is stored somewhere his brother was watching it though and rushes over it gets a fright and backs off trying to pretend there's nothing special going on but the intruder smells a rat and determinedly he walks over to the hiding place and digs the chunk of meat out the other chick does make an attempt to get its meat back but the victor claims the prize for himself and finds his own hiding place suddenly one of the parents shouts a warning call a young female fox has appeared in the clearing cheese also probably caught the scent of the deer and wants a good meal too quickly the young raven opens up his hiding place and fetches the chunk of meat the fox is definitely not going to get his prize once again the adult bird cries out a warning now things are getting risky instead the young raven struts across the clearing as if it were no big deal it seems to want to provoke the approaching fox at the very last minute the raven flies off better safe than sorry common ravens are too intelligent to take unnecessary risks the increasing wilderness of the hearts nature reserve will benefit many animals and plants not least the common ravens meanwhile it's midsummer in alusi activity at the conrad lawrence research station has reached its peak after the geese and ravens have hatched their chicks there are further tests to carry out once again anna brown is on her way to elias and colombo she recently started a new series of experiments it's clear from earlier experiments at various universities that ravens possess personal awareness similar to humans anna brown wants to find out how strong their individual ability is to tell other ravens apart and for this she uses a computer with a touchscreen to warm up they do an experiment that the ravens already know called fish and flower it's important to note that the ravens participate in experiments of their own free will they can come and go as they please on the screen photographs of various fish and flowers appear if elias taps fish he gets a reward that means correct on the other hand if he taps the flower the screen turns red wrong okay i got it [Music] now anna brown begins the actual experiment eight of the wild ravens have each been photographed from ten different perspectives the aim of the experiment is to test whether four of the eight birds shown on the screen can be recognized by the test bird similarly to the fish and flowers game if the bird gets it right there's a reward for the forty pictures of the other four birds there is none this time colombo starts the test that was right right again need a break no columba wants to try again right again and again bother this time wrong at the moment elias and colombo are in training but it's already apparent that common ravens do indeed have highly developed powers of discrimination in autumn when the supply of food is poorer crows form large winter flocks waste dumps are becoming more and more important as a source of food jackdaws are attracted here as are crows and rooks and in some areas even the common ravens since burning household waste in europe started the waste dumps are no longer as attractive as they once were but a few good morsels can still be found in the rubbish even a stalk has discovered the dump the abundance of food and the good local climate in such locations has resulted in some migratory birds staying at home near their breeding grounds rather than heading south in winter dumps are oversized man-made food sources rather like the battlefields and gallows in the middle ages if not quite as macabre either way they attract flocks of crows that would not naturally occur under normal circumstances as omnivores and scavengers it's impossible for the crows to pass over a dump without stopping a miraculous place in these times of scarcity the flocks of juvenile birds benefit most from the dumps but as a result flocks grow to unnatural sizes the birds also remain in one place far longer than they otherwise would instead of roaming the countryside as they did in the past for those who are unafraid of humans towns and villages make ideal places to spend the winter particularly during the pre-christmas period it's easy to find food on the streets as here on the christmas market in potsdam the greyish black hooded crow is the eastern counterpart to the carrion crow and is easy to recognize by its contrasting black and grey plumage in winter these birds are even more attracted to the cities than their black feathered cousins in the west there's not just plenty to eat here it's also warmer than out in the open fields where a cold wind often blows in from the east almost paradise for crows rich pickings from a post office van scavenging leftovers from a park bench like all members of the crow family hooded crows are torn between curiosity and fear of the unknown could the bag of rolls be dangerous no he who dares wins it would be a shame to waste the chance of a delicacy just like all crows hooded crows love walnuts more than anything walnuts are very nourishing because of their high fat carbohydrate and vitamin content and it seems that crows love the taste of them so the finder of a nut is never alone for long the crows by the post office van have finished their meal for any other bird the empty dish would be uninteresting but not for a crow you can have great fun with one of these things a clear sign of their above average intelligence and they're still fighting over the nut laying in stores of food is also a sign of intelligence a nut that can't be eaten now is set aside somewhere for a rainy day and months later the crow can remember exactly where it was left he could only hope that no one saw where he put it [Music] in 1884 friedrich nietzsche wrote the crows cry out and fly in swarms towards the city soon it will snow woe to him who has no hope but crows do have a home because they know that winter is far easier to survive in the company of others and so in winter they come into the cities every evening to spend the nights together and while even at night the traffic continues to flow flocks of crows congregate in the old resting places which have been passed on from one generation to another as here in frankfurt are mine [Music] the clever crows have always followed us everywhere and it looks as if that will never change [Music] [Applause] [Music] never more

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

Views: 343,671

Rating: 4.890471 out of 5

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Wildlife, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife Documentary 2020, Animals, Animal Documentary, Birds, Bird Documentary, Raven, Ravens, Raven Documentary, Common Raven, Corvus Corax, Rascals of the Sky, ornithology, Bird is the word, Crows, Crow Documentary, corvidae, The Raven, Nature

Id: D6s3u0624P8

Length: 51min 57sec (3117 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 11 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Zedsdead001]

I love to watch those things. They're really fascinating. I know humans that ain't that smart is the bad thing.

[u/ElZorro5]

I work for my city’s street department. I roam the streets a lot, small city of 20k in northeast Texas. I was roaming the back roads and came across 3 ravens they had found a box of French fries. The biggest one of the three was bullying the other two of them. And would grab a beak full of French fries and hide them under the leaves beside the road.

[u/endlessstringof11]

That claim about them bring the only bird to use tools is incorrect. The Palm Cockatoo of Australia uses particular pieces of wood to drum on hollow branches. That’s a tool.

[u/apathywhocares]

When you hear a wild Australian Magpie bark like a dog, or make camera noises, your world is complete (and yes I know they're only just corvids)

[u/luckycommander]

Interesting choice to have Alpine chough on the thumbnail for a doco mainly about Ravens

[u/datacollect_ct]

You know you have COVID ptsd when you read this headline and know it's about corvids but come to the word corvid and go AHHH!

[u/Dantheman616]

They are, but they are so loud and obnoxious lol

[u/Waterrat]

This is a really good one. You might also like A Murder Of Crows.