Hundreds of ravens gather to mourn

[Still Waters]

Ravens have feelings, too, at least judging from an eerie scene Tuesday morning on Minnie Street in east Fairbanks.

After two ravens roosting on top of a power transformer were electrocuted, hundreds of ravens showed up within a minute or two and started silently circling overhead and perching in nearby trees.

Rod Stephens, owner of Rod’s Saw Shop across the street, saw the scene play out before his eyes after a man pulled into the shop and reported seeing sparks flying on top of the transformer.

“I walked out there and there were all these birds just circling. There were ravens in all the trees,” he said. “It was weird.

Stephens estimated the number of ravens at “a couple hundred.”

“It was like that movie, ‘The Birds,’” he said. “I walked out and wasn’t sure if they were going to start dive-bombing me.”

Read more...

[Space Commander Travis]

The journalist seems to be surprised that "Ravens have feelings, too". I think most of us probably always knew that. Poe certainly did.

[Funky Poacher]

The journalist seems to be surprised that "Ravens have feelings, too". I think most of us probably always knew that. Poe certainly did.

Ah, well, writers certainly often know more than journalists. Journalists report. Writers feel.

[Cybele]

How do we know they were mourning?

How do we even know what they were doing?

That's exactly what I was thinking. Aren't ravens scavengers? Maybe they were there to eat them.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Cybele

[The Silver Thong]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Aren't ravens scavengers? Maybe they were there to eat them.

We have a bingo ! damn rights, the only reason they wern't picking apart the couple is because he was there. Nature leaves nothing to waste even eating your own kind.

[Michelle]

A group of ravens is called a storytelling, congress or unkindness. I think that says it all.

edit:A group of crows is called a murder. A lot of people can't tell the difference between ravens and crows.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Michelle

[danielost]

A group of ravens is called a storytelling, congress or unkindness. I think that says it all.

edit:A group of crows is called a murder. A lot of people can't tell the difference between ravens and crows.

here is the problem

ravens are small and crows are large

however in europe

ravens are large and crows are small.

[Alchera]

Ah, well, writers certainly often know more than journalists. Journalists report. Writers feel.

I like that one.

[Abramelin]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Aren't ravens scavengers? Maybe they were there to eat them.

They are scavengers alright, but they do not eat one of their own.

Unlike us humans...... some still do, and many did thousends of years ago.

[Siara]

[quote name=Cybele' date='

18 November 2009 - 11:03 PM' timestamp='1258603418' post='3174214]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Aren't ravens scavengers? Maybe they were there to eat them.

That occurred to me too. I was hiking in the woods the other day and saw hundreds of ravens circling over a dead deer. They weren't mourning the deer.

[Abramelin]

That occurred to me too. I was hiking in the woods the other day and saw hundreds of ravens circling over a dead deer. They weren't mourning the deer.

At a banket, you can see hundreds of people 'circling' the roasted pig on the table. Are they mourning the pig? No.

At a funeral, you can see hundreds of people 'circling' the coffin. Are they mourning, or are they waiting to attack this 'dish'?

[Stormcrow]

My thought here is, what are a couple hundred ravens going to do with two raven corpses? They certainly can't share it. Ravens normally don't flock in large numbers either. I don't know, but I've seen ravens do some strange things. They're extraordinarily smart birds; how do we know what they were doing at all? Maybe they were celebrating the passing of two particularly daft birds in the flock, and they were all very excited to see them gone.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Ebonykrow

[carini]

I found an old raven perching on one of the branches in a tree when I lived in Saudi Arabia. It was sick and injured so I got a broom and killed it.

Within 5 minutes there were at least 40 ravens flying above my house.

[Abramelin]

I found an old raven perching on one of the branches in a tree when I lived in Saudi Arabia. It was sick and injured so I got a broom and killed it.

Within 5 minutes there were at least 40 ravens flying above my house.

I hope you tell me where you are exactly, so I can stay out of your way whenever I feel sick, LOL !!

OK, serious now: these ravens will now remember you face forever, carini.

It's not a joke, they do have an excellent memory for human faces.

[Grandpa Greenman]

here is the problem

ravens are small and crows are large

however in europe

ravens are large and crows are small.

Ravens are bigger than crows here in the states too. When I lived in Ocala Florida I use to see them. It is the only place east of the Mississippi that has ravens. Here is a site that explains the difference.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/crowfaq.htm#raven

[Bullseye]

Warning,rantings of a fewl !,

I would'nt be surprised at anything the crow family did,they are (for birds) very intelligent creatures,I've seen them doing things that looked like they were socialising/playing, even holding "judgmental courts",nothing would surprise me about the Corvids!.

Bad grammers,my badness !.

[Abramelin]

Warning,rantings of a fewl !,

I would'nt be surprised at anything the crow family did,they are (for birds) very intelligent creatures,I've seen them doing things that looked like they were socialising/playing, even holding "judgmental courts",nothing would surprise me about the Corvids!.

Bad grammers,my badness !.

Let me tell you something else: there are biologists who say that - concerning intelligence - ravens are somewhere between humans and apes.

That should get people thinking, right?

No, most people are morons.

[Stormcrow]

Let me tell you something else: there are biologists who say that - concerning intelligence - ravens are somewhere between humans and apes.

That would put cats and ravens on a similar scale. :D But, I have seen ravens do some pretty interesting things myself, like the use of speech. There are a few videos on Youtube of ravens (and crows) speaking very clearly, and in some videos it almost appears that they're using the words in context, or at least understand what they're saying.

Edited November 21, 2009 by Ebonykrow

[UltraThunderMan]

So they communicate psychically or something? How did all the rest of em know that the two original ones had died? Some kind of "raven sense?"

[Bullseye]

So they communicate psychically or something? How did all the rest of em know that the two original ones had died? Some kind of "raven sense?"

Probably nothing to do with psychic abilities, more likely that they have far better vision than humans and could see "something going on" and being Corvids they went to investigate ?.

[SilverCougar]

I'm not surprised that they were mourning, it's been shown over and over that many species are capable of doing such. To think that humans are the only ones capable of such is rather arrogant. We are after all animals as well.