big black bird
What is the difference between a raven and a crow? I have looked them up, and learned that ravens belong to the crow family. So, I suppose I could call this wonderful bird a crow, and be covered. But I like the sound of ‘raven’. It seems more dramatic. And this bird is definitely dramatic. There are two, actually, who live somewhere near our neighborhood. They are very brave. Especially on trash day when the trash cans have been pulled out to the curb. If a lid is slightly open, they stand on it and reach in to pull out snacks. They do not want anyone to mess with their snacking, even creatures five times taller than they are. They are very saucy. Like a blue jay, only more so. I love them (even though I am slightly intimidated by them when I am having a stand-off over the trash can.) Here is one of the ravens on our neighbor’s chimney.
She is big, so I think she is a raven. Also, her call is similar to the description of a raven’s. This web site has recordings of a raven’s call vs. a crow’s in case you are curious.
http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/difs.html
The ravens come across as very confident. I suppose that in nature, there isn’t any benefit to lack of confidence. Nor is there a benefit to modesty for that matter. Aren’t all birds rather tenacious? but some seem to be more admired than others (with the exception of pigeons, who seem tenacious in that sort of I-don’t-know-any-better-so-I-will-just-keep-doing-the-same-thing-over-and-over kind of way). Why is that? Is it their physical beauty? Or what they chose to be tenacious about? (think about a humming bird versus a vulture, for example) I am thinking I might like to learn a bit from this raven. I will think of her as one of my mentors. Especially with respect to marketing.