FRIGHTENING FEATHERY FRIDAY # 11

FRIGHTENING

FEATHERY FRIDAY # 11

Phew! We’ve made it through our week of SCARY animals! Now we have Frightening Feathery Friday and a dark and beautiful bird! Don’t worry this bird is not really scary, but they are often associated with Halloween. So let’s meet this bird…

MEET THE COMMON RAVEN!

Range/Habitat: North & Central America-Europe-Asia and North Africa/woodlands, open fields and urban areas

Diet: Omnivores: small mammals, insects, fruit

Length/Weight: 26”/ 2 ½ lbs

Conservation Status: Common

Fun Facts:

• Common Ravens are the largest member of the crow family in North Hemisphere.
• They are highly intelligent and very social.
• Common ravens have very large brains and are known to be great at problem solving.
• Common ravens mate for life. They can live up to 15 years old in the wild and have been known to live longer in captivity.
• They have large bills to eat many different types of prey.
• Common ravens are admired in many cultures. They are even kept by royalty at The Tower of London!

These beautiful birds are really smart and have adapted well to live near and around people! It’s easy to see why people love them so much with their haunting calls and shiny black feathers! Did you know that there is a very famous poem about them by Edgar Allan Poe called “The Raven”? We hope you have enjoyed our week of spooky, creepy and awesome animals! We sure had fun learning about them!

Here are some of the many sounds that ravens make!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_raven/sounds

Learn about the Tower of London Ravens:

http://www.castles.me.uk/ravens-in-the-tower-of-london.htm