Avian Friends

Christina here. I’ve been mulling over ideas for a new story, and one of the things I’d like to add is an unusual pet. In the past, I’ve always given my heroes and heroines faithful canine companions, but this time I want something a little bit different. I’m considering a pet raven.

As I write about Viking times, this seems appropriate, since the god Odin was said to have two ravens – Huginn (Old Norse for ‘thought’) and Muninn (Old Norse for ‘memory’). According to the sagas, this pair would fly across the world each day and then return to Odin to give him information about anything that might concern him. His personal spies, as it were. It is interesting that this particular type of bird was chosen by the god to be his informants – Vikings must have known how clever they are.

Ever since my younger daughter bought a pair of cockatiels, we’ve been fascinated by birds in our house. Being a confirmed dog person, I had never considered having one as a pet and because they are so small, I generally assumed they were literally ‘bird brains’, ie not very clever. I was very wrong. I think most humans tend to underestimate the intelligence of birds (and other creatures). Obviously there are lots of different kinds, and some are smarter than others, but in general they seem to understand much more than we think. And the one who stands out above all others is the raven.

“Quoth the raven, nevermore!”

I first became aware of ravens when reading Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem at school. There was something fascinating and spell-binding about that particular bird and the words resonated with me. I’d never seen a raven in real life though until I moved to England and visited the Tower of London. As you probably all know, there is a legend that says that there have to be at least six ravens living at the Tower or else England and its monarchy will fall. (More about that here). I’m assuming that in days gone by they lived there of their own free will because there were wild ravens in London at that time, but these days they are kept on purpose. I follow the Ravenmaster (the Yeoman Warder/’Beefeater’ Chris Skaife who is in charge of them) on social media and love all his quirky photos of the ravens currently residing at the Tower. It seems to me he has a seriously cool job!

There are now seven birds – one extra just in case – with names like Gripp and Poppy. (The collective noun for a group of ravens is an Unkindness of Ravens, which although weird is better than a Murder of Crows IMO). There have also been some chicks and the Ravenmaster posted lovely photos of them while he was looking after them. Some stay on, while others are sent away when they are ready to leave. Although they are kept in cages during the night, they are let out in the daytime and visitors to the Tower can see them and take photos. You’re not supposed to feed them, but I think they manage to find quite a few scraps of food left behind by visitors. One of their wings is clipped so they won’t stray too far, but they can still fly up onto the old walls. I just love watching them and got quite close to one last time I was there! (And I couldn’t resist buying a raven plushie in the gift shop).

A raven’s cry is very harsh and a much deeper sound than that of a crow or jackdaw (listen to this), although they make several different types of noise and apparently also imitate other birds. (And they can learn to speak some of our words too).

When I first moved to my current home near the Welsh border, I didn’t realise that there were wild ravens around here but I heard them and asked someone what the weird noise was. Since then, I have seen them, but only at a distance. They seldom come into our garden except to sit high up in the trees. The local crows must find them a threat, as I’ve seen a group of them gang up on a raven or two, presumably if/when they are threatening the crow chicks. I’m absolutely thrilled to be living close to these magnificent birds, though, and always look for them whenever I hear one. In fact, I’d love to interact with one, but owning them is not allowed, and I prefer to think of them roaming free in any case. If my next heroine is to have one, she’ll have to have found it as a chick, perhaps with a broken wing or something? Obviously, there were no rules against keeping such a bird in Viking times.

Raven Sculpture - Royal Academy, London

As I said, ravens are one of the most intelligent types of birds. According to these articles in the Scientific American and National Geographic, “At just four months of age, the birds performed equally well as great apes on understanding numbers, following cues and many more tasks.” Pretty amazing, isn’t it?

They can solve problems and remember things, as well as follow cues. And they can definitely figure out how to steal food (love this little fisherman – see this YouTube video!). They can even plan ahead and are better at it than human four-year olds!

Raven toy custom made by my daughter

Ravens are very playful and I love watching videos on social media of their antics, like these ones playing in snow:-

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CYJuMBoqm44/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnUN4wIxzmI

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ravens+playing

It fascinates me that they make time for playing rather than just spending their whole lives looking for food to survive. They must be very sure of their skills if they can devote time to other things. I read that they use stunt flying, like aeroplanes doing barrel-rolls and flying upside down, to attract mates.

I know birds are not everyone’s cup of tea, and some people are even terrified of them – ornithophobia. Perhaps it’s their flapping wings and sharp beaks they find off-putting. I have to admit that I wouldn’t like to be on the business end of a raven’s beak, nor that of a huge parrot or cockatoo. A friend of mine was bitten by her mother’s parrot and he took quite a chunk out of her! Even my daughter’s cockatiels can give you quite a nip so it doesn’t do to annoy them, small though they are. But I have come to enjoy spending time with them and observing their antics, so I think my heroine will enjoy having a pet bird. And perhaps that beak can come in useful against her enemies? We shall see.

What about you, do you like birds or do you prefer to keep your distance? Any in particular? Or perhaps you like some other unusual type of pet? (I’m very partial to snakes myself).

Comments

[Quantum]

I like wild birds but am not keen on caging them as pets.

I have lots of bushy growth in my garden providing nesting sites, and pampas grass which the birds strip every spring to line their nests ... they like to be cosy!

I also have bird feeders with seeds and peanuts and get endless entertainment from watching the pigeons and magpies performing gymnastic tricks to extract the food (intended for the small birds)

My current favourite is the robin who always accompanies me when weeding. It perches on the handle of my fork and hops around under my nose when I'm extracting weeds. When it gets a juicy worm it seems to look at me appreciatively almost as though offering to share!

Nice idea for the new story. I rather like the idea of a wild bird (raven or owl perhaps?) bonding with a character so that it senses when the character is in danger.

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, Quantum, I'm so glad you like the idea! I too love watching the birds on our bird feeder (not to mention the cheeky squirrel who tries to steal his fair share), and I have a little robin "helping" me when I do weeding as well. They are incredibly quick to arrive, aren't they, and know they're onto a good thing when we dig up the soil for them. Very sweet!

[Mary T]

I recently saw three huge black birds in my back yard. I assumed they were crows. I had never seen black birds that big before. They were at least 8 inches long. Anyway, I thought they were kind of scary looking. I was glad they didn't stick around too long.

I do like watching birds though. Robins must have really good eyesight. They will sit patiently on a tree limb and then suddenly swoop down and pull a worm right out of the grass.

But my favorites are hummingbirds. They like my flowers. When I sit on my porch it is not uncommon for one of them to hover right in front of my face. I do wonder what they are thinking as they hover there. Maybe they think I'm a great bid old garden gnome (smile).

Loved your post.

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, Mary! Oh how wonderful - I've never seen a hummingbird in real life! They seem like such lovely birds, you're very lucky. You're right about crows, they do seem kind of scary, but I think they're beautiful at the same time and obviously clever like their raven cousins.

[Denise]

Love this post on the ravens and have been fortunate to see them at the Tower. We feed the birds in the winter and they are so much fun to watch. But the feeders are put away now so the bear doesn’t come to visit. We had a blue front Amazon parrot for about 10 years, he was very bonded to my husband and a great mimic. I don’t miss him.

[Christina Courtenay]

Bear!!! Goodness - nothing that exciting around here. Yes, I love those ravens at the Tower, they are very mischievous and so beautiful with their shiny plumage.
So glad you enjoyed the post - thank you!

[Mary Ann Lutz]

What a wonderful idea!

[Kareni]

Thanks for your informative post, Christina; I think that a bird companion could be wonderful for your heroine.

Growing up in Australia, we had a corella as a pet. I believe she was rescued after falling from her nest. We had to leave her with another family when we left Australia as it was forbidden to take corellas from the country. She was very intelligent-- she would sing and dance. She would also call (in my mother's voice) for Pierre, our dog, to go get his lead for a walk. This did NOT make the dog happy when no walk was forthcoming.

[Mary E Drake]

Great idea. Apparently all the songbirds in the rest of world originated in Australia - which knowledge turned ideas about the north being the leader in evolution upside down! Birds do amazing things. My Dad had a galah that used to whistle taxis, much to the annoyance of the drivers! Nana didn't like him so he chewed through her chair leg until it finally broke and she landed on her backside - goodbye galah! We also call Australian White Ibis bin chickens because they have learned how to get into our lidded bins and forage. Cockatoos have learned to work together to get the bricks off bin lids and forage too - apparently this is a social breakthrough in birds. I know of people who were upset that someone kept stealing their underwear of their washing line. They eventually found that a pair of magpie juveniles were taking the pegs off and dropping bras, panties and sox over the edge of the next door cliff. Who says birds don't have a sense of humour? My cousin had a pet magpie (broken wing) who eventually went off, paired off and had offspring. He brought them all back to her house to be introduced each year. I love birds and have a million stories, all due to my bird loving father who could identify and even whistle all sorts of bird calls. Every bird reminds me of wonderful times with him. Birds are long lived (ravens to 40 years) so maybe your heroine's father rescued a baby bird which grew up with her?

[Mary Jo Putney]

What a wonderful post, Christina! By all means give your heroine a raven of her own. Some of the stories from the comments above are just amazing.

[Mary M.]

Thor's analog drones! I love it. And I'll definitely read the forthcoming book, go for it, Christina.

[Anne Gracie]

Nice post, Christina.

Quantum, I love the sound of your robin. It reminds me of the robin in The Secret Garden.

I generally wake to the sound of birds, which is a lovely way to start the day. Mostly it's rainbow lorikeets, chirruping and screeching, but the best is the sound of magpies carolling joyously. They're real characters, too, and if you feed them, they'll come back regularly. A friend of mine gets dozens of magpies visiting her in her back garden, bringing several generations of babies.

We had a sulphur crested cockatoo when I was a kid — he was tame, with an injured wing and couldn't fly, but had been released into the wild, where he would have died. His previous owners kept him on a long chain, but when they moved to the city, they just let him go — irresponsible idiots! I heard him mournfully chatting to himself in a tree, and coaxed him down with half a packet of biscuits and brought him home on my wrist. He lived with us for years, but was never caged, and used to roam the yard, bossing the dog around and stalking one of my sisters, who was frightened of him. It was all in mischief — he had such a personality!

[Anne Gracie]

Mary and Christina, I saw my first-ever hummingbird in Mary Jo's garden. It was an absolute highlight.

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you - I love the sound of your cockatoo, Anne, and I'm so glad you rescued him! He must have been a real character. I've never thought about magpies carolling - perhaps they're different where you live? We very seldom see any in our garden, but I think that's because we have so many crows and ravens. There might be some rivalry there?

[Christina Courtenay]

Really hope to see a hummingbird one day!

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, so pleased you like it!

[Christina Courtenay]

Aww, sounds like another real character, how wonderful! (But poor dog LOL). I had to look up corella and they are beautiful. Amazing how clever birds are at mimicking!

[Christina Courtenay]

That's a good point, Mary, thank you! I'll have to factor that into the story. Love all your tales of birds - they really are fascinating! And the fact that they work together is amazing. Lovely to hear about the one who brought his family too, thank you!

[Christina Courtenay]

Aren't they just? Thank you, I definitely will now!

[Christina Courtenay]

Many thanks, Mary - a raven it is! All I need now is a good name for him/her.

[Karin]

A pet raven sounds like a wonderful idea. Coincidentally, I recently read a book where the heroine had one-"The Girl Is Not For Christmas" by Emma Leech. Very cute story!
We feed the birds all year round. My favorites are the hummingbirds, we have a pair of them living in our back yard shrubbery every summer. They are very bold and feisty, so much fun to watch!

[Annette N]

Thanks so much for this post. Ravens are obviously intelligent. I liked the pictures from the raven care giver.

I have lived with pet birds - doves, a cockatiel, a yellow nape parrot and an umbrella cockatoo. Not all at the same time. My family was into pets.

Charlie, the parrot and Rosie, the cockatoo were wonderful pets. I say that even though Charlie bit a chunk out of my upper lip the first day I met him. Both of them were smart and funny and fond of me. Mr Wonderful got rid of both of them. I have wondered how they were since then. They generally live long lives, they would have been the only pets who would still be with me if I had been able to keep them.

Our cockatiel, Pete, loved the theme song to the Andy Griffith show. He did not fly. He walked everywhere. He once got behind the washer and came out covered in dust. He was not amused. And he was so affectionate. Birds normally live in flocks so they like living close to their humans.

Thanks again for the terrific post. You have reminded me of how lucky I have been in having some bird as friends.

I would say, if someone is considering a bird as a pet, it is a good idea and they make good friends.

Hope everyone is happy.

[Christina Courtenay]

Thanks, Karin, I'll have to look out for that book! I'm very jealous of those of you who have hummingbirds in your gardens, it sounds so exotic!

[Christina Courtenay]

Thank you, Annette - yes, they are definitely very affectionate once they make friends with you and seem to like spending time with humans. I love how playful they are too - they can spend hours with just a few cocktail sticks and have lots of fun! So glad you've had those lovely birds in your life and that you enjoyed the post.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Anne, what a wonderful story!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Christina, I think you'll have to come to North America to see hummingbirds. They are amazing to watch--so tiny, so quick!

[Anne Gracie]

Christina, Australian magpies are different to UK ones — they were probably called magpies by early settlers because they're black and white. You can see and hear one carolling here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYEYc8Ge3nw

[Christina Courtenay]

Oh wow, yes that's totally different! A beautiful bird and a lovely sound - thank you!

[Christina Courtenay]

I will definitely look out for them next time I'm lucky enough to travel to the US!

[Jane Nelson]

Christina, while I don't think I'd like to have a raven, or any other bird, for a pet, I do enjoy watching them, usually from the other side of the window. Did you know that in Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series, Julia has a pet raven? It will be interesting to see what you do with this idea.

[Alicia]

I love having birds as pets! As a kid we always had pet canaries, and despite their timid nature, managed to teach them tricks like sitting on fingers, looking upside down at us, eating from our hands, etc.
As an adult, I've had a pet cockatiel--still with us and a real character--and a rescue sparrow. Don't laugh! That little brown bird was the best birdie pet ever, and I still miss her delightful, quirky, clever company.
Birds are the most wonderful creatures. What would the world be without them?

[Christina Courtenay]

That sounds wonderful, Alicia! I'm so glad you have (and have had) such amazing bird friends!

[Alana M]

Several years ago, I was watching the ravens in the tower and one of them had learned to jump out at people carrying their fish and chips towards the bins...if he startled them enough, they dropped their food and the raven went strutting off hauling the paper box. It was very funny - although the yeoman warder did say that particular raven may have to retire to the country as it wouldn't do to have the ravens menacing tourists (no matter how cleverly)

[Christina Courtenay]

Ha ha, I wouldn't mind being menaced by him! He sounds like a real character and so clever - good for him!