If you ever stop to observe the raven (Corvus corax), you will soon realize that they are highly intelligent and social creatures. They can pull off their tricks individually, but they really shine when they work together as a team. They are also amazingly adaptive, they live as both predator and scavenger and range across most of the Northern Hemisphere, from dry hot deserts to Arctic tundra. On the Colorado river, where I have spent many, many moons, I have seen them evolve along side the river runners and tourists. These little rascals have learned how to unzip zippers, make and use tools, recognize faces, problem solve to get into all sorts of trouble and basically just make a mess of everything if you don’t properly close and contain your food and gear. Once, I saw a raven fly off with an enormous, half cooked pork chop. He swooped in and snatched it right off the flaming BBQ while his buddies tormented and distracted the poor grill master, the infamous Billy Sims. I’ve seen them steal anything from cigarettes and prescription drugs, to entire sleeves of cookies and your packed lunch sandwich.  Another time, early in the morning, a passenger awoke to only find that his prized gold chain (that he had so intentionally took off for the night and laid beside his sleeping bag) was missing. Angrily, he stormed into the kitchen about to accuse someone of stealing it when we spotted the real thief, the raven, struggling to fly across the river with his shiny, new, heavy but golden burden. It was pretty hard not to laugh…Any season now, I bet they will learn how to open up ammo cans or maybe even drive the boat! If a raven sees you see them, stash their new lute, they will move it again to a place that is more secret! They are fascinated with chicken eggs and love them raw or hard boiled and will happily accept the treat from whomever is offering. However, if you place an egg in the sand, then with your finger draw a circle around it, they think it’s a trap and won’t cross over into the inner circle to retrieve the egg. I have had them rummage through my unattended backpack, take what they think is interesting and then leave a tiny rock or crystal on top as if that is somehow payment for whatever they’ve stolen. While some people may think the Corvus species is nothing but a nuisance, the raven has managed to make its way into the hearts of many and has even become and endearing icon of sorts in communities of the Southwest.

I also observe these funny birds right in my own back yard in Flagstaff. There has been a family living in our Ponderosa Pine trees for a few years now. We have seen them raise two sets of fledglings and have watched all of the hilarious antics that go along with growing up and learning how to fly.  We have a little stump that we use to “make offerings” not only to the ravens but to any other forest friend who may seek a snack. One cold morning, I had put out some stale, hard (but homemade!) sourdough. I watched through my kitchen window as the raven took the hard pieces of bread and one by one soaked them in the bird bath to soften them up so he could eat them. Then, when he was finished with his breakfast, I swear he was checking himself out and with a savy smirk grooming his feathers, pondering his own reflection in the water. What was he thinking? Do the ravens wonder about their purpose in life, or what will happen next, or where they will find their next meal? Whatever goes on inside their over-sized bird brain, I think it is pretty obvious that they are intelligent and conscious of themselves (which is more than I can say for some humans). “Who Am I?” asks the raven of his reflection. And then, I wonder, do we ask ourselves that question often enough?

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