We were on the way back to the van when two ravens began tagging along. They were as big as hawks so at first I worried about my little poodle fitting their prey profile. Were they upset that we were poaching on their territory? The landfill was nearby.
The wind gave them enough ridge lift to levitate just twenty or thirty feet over my head. Their bodies were inclined at twenty degrees, maximizing the lift. This exxagerated the crook in their necks as they looked down on us with great curiosity.
At times they seemed to be just fooling around. Their bodies were as rigid and planar as a kite, and at times it would wobble and descend like a kite whose line has gone slack.
Then one of the ravens flew off. The one who stayed cawed over my head. Actually it sounded more like Aww or Awk. But I was surprised how many different sounds came from that bird. It seemed intelligent and conversational.
Patagonia, AZ, is a mecca for birders, and the competition for attention amongst the various species is intense. Everyday they get onto the web to check out the Flickr site to see who has been getting photographed most. Some of breeds grouse that the name of the site shows a bias.
The avian community was aflutter with news that one RV travel blog had given some good press to ravens, of all things. (Refer to Spring Finally Comes!, a couple days back.) They were still ravin' about.
But back to the Raven's Tale. Ever since one Edgar Allen Poe, the raven's lot has been one of Woe. Their public image has never recovered; their good traits overlooked, undiscovered.
They are disliked even by birders for their thieving ways. They are considered ignoble in contrast the exalted image of raptors--and yet ravens can soar with the best of them, and pull off spectacular aerial stunts. It is like the coyote relative to the wolf. But more on that later.
If their tale was a movie it would be film noir. Nor are the facts in the pet stores any better. People go there to adopt splashy dressers who can learn to say cuss words. So can ravens, but who would adopt one of them? Nor are there any rescue organizations for them, or Save-the-Raven environmental groups.
In fairness to Poe, the Raven has long had a malevolent image. Maybe it's an anthropological thing with humans, like their fear of wolves. The recent history of the Wolf is what I used to try to cheer up my Raven friend.
Ever since Farley Mowat wrote Never Cry Wolf the wolf's stock has been rising. Today the wolf is virtually a poster child of wildlife organizations. Maybe that would happen to the raven, and they would be the pariahs of the bird world nevermore.
