10 Fascinating Facts You Didn’t Know About Ravens

These smart birds often work as a pair to acquire food. The first raven will lure a parent bird away from its nest, while the other one tries to swoop in to feed on the eggs or hatchlings.

They also have been known to lead wolves to a carcass to tear through the animals, so they can comfortably dine on the soft innards.

Ravens can talk better than some parrots! Yes, Don't be surprised! They also can mimic other noises, like car engines, toilets flushing, animals, and bird calls. 

Ravens have been known to imitate wolves and foxes to attract them to carcasses that the raven isn't capable of breaking open. So when the wolf is done eating, the raven gets the leftovers.

Since ancient times, Ravens have played a key role in mythology and superstition. People believed they were the souls of wicked priests, while crows were evil nuns.

Ravens were believed b to be an omen of battle and bloodshed. The Irish believed that the war goddess would call ravens down from the sky to eat the corpses of the fallen. And this is what ravens do, goddess or no goddess. 

In India, they see ravens as the souls of the deceased which represent bad or good luck, and in Germany, ravens are believed to hold the souls of the damned.

They have been symbolically depicted in literature and legends throughout history in many different cultures around the world. The writer, Edgar Allan Poe in his famous poem, describes the raven that taps on the narrator's chamber door on a dark December night as a "grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore." 

Its appearance at midnight symbolizes death and a painful reminder of the lonely and sorrowful state of the narrator.

Ravens are playful and funny creatures. They can surf updrafts, fly upside down other than many strange things.

Also, ravens usually play a fun game of catch. They drop sticks while in flight and then quickly swoop to catch it before it hits the ground.

This strange behavior is not well understood yet. Ant secretion can sooth a molting bird's skin.

Ravens tend to smash ants and rub them all over their bodies. They produce formic acid that will be absorbed into their skin and feels incredibly useful to them.

Ravens have a vast repertoire of 100 or more vocalizations. In fact, with their deep voice, ravens can mimic human speech and singing and can imitate other bird sounds. Also, they call to inform their mate to join them when food is found.

Ravens are highly empathetic and to display empathy, they must be able to comprehend the situation and then adjust their behavior toward the case accordingly. 

For example, when they lose a friend in a fight, they will seem to console the losing bird. Also, they remember things they like and will respond in a friendly way to individual birds for at least two years after seeing them.

If you try to chase ravens from your yard, then, you may want to stop and reconsider what you're doing. Crows, ravens and other corvids are not keen on forgiving or forgetting.

The biologist John M. Marzluff put this idea to the test at the University of Washington campus in Seattle were seven crows tagged and released on the campus by researchers wearing masks. 

The scary and neutral masks were worn around campus to provoke a reaction from the birds. The crows scolded people wearing the "dangerous" masks by swooping and dive-bombing. Scary right!

It's known that wolves possess the strength to hunt alone, but in most cases, they get help from their feathered friends. 

According to a recent study, researchers noticed that within a minute of wolves killing a moose, ravens were already on it. Ravens and wolves may not seem like bedfellows. But, it is a mutually beneficial relationship even if it looks like wolves are getting the short end of the straw here.