Thought and Memory...

 There are always certain groups of birds that we see so often that we start to not really notice them; such groups as gulls and corvids (crow family).

At Forsinard we are lucky to have the largest member of the corvids; the Raven (Corvus corax) all year around and when you stop to take a closer look at them they really are really spectacular birds. When seen closely they are large birds with a wingspan of approximately 115-130 cm.

Raven by Janice Duke

Ravens are well-known for their intelligence, but they are also very playful birds, performing mid-air acrobatics, playing 'games' with each other's beaks and passing stones to each other.  They have always been carrion eaters, playing an important role in cleaning up after other animals have finished, but will also catch small vertebrates and insects. Pairs stay together for life, and defend a territory from which they exclude all other ravens. Breeding begins very early in February or March and as such are some of our earliest breeding birds at Forsinard. A rich wealth of folklore and mythology centres on the raven; King Arthur is said to return in the form of a raven, Noah sent out a raven from the Ark to fly 'forth and fro until the waters were dried up from off the earth', and the Norse god Odin had two ravens Huginn (from Old Norse "thought") and Muninn (Old Norse "memory “or "mind") who flew the world to return to his shoulders and whisper what was happening into his ears.

In recent years, biologists have recognized that birds engage in play. Juvenile Common Ravens are among the most playful of bird species. They have been observed to slide down snow banks, apparently purely for fun.  Check out this link if you don't believe me... http://www.arkive.org/raven/corvus-corax/video-16.html