Ravens

Some interesting facts about ravens.

The raven is the largest bird in the crow family. They have an almost three-foot wingspan and at three pounds they’re twice as heavy as the common crow. Also unlike crows ravens can soar high above the trees and are  apable of aerial stunts similar to those executed by birds of prey.

Ravens are considered the most intelligent birds displaying high learning ability and the use of logic for solving problems. In one experiment a raven had to follow a series of actions to reach a piece of meat dangling from a string bound to perches. Ravens even put other animals to work for them. They have a close symbiotic relationship with the fox which helps them open the tough skins on the carcasses to expose the meat. Raven calls can express tenderness happiness surprise emotion or rage.

Here are two raven stories.

The first story happened during Pesach about ten years ago. I went upstairs to a neighbor to pick up something. She was cooking hamburgers with real 100 percent beef which they ate only three times a year on the Yamim Tovim. Her entire family had gone out that day for a trip and she opted to stay home. She took about a quarter-pound of the meat to cook a burger for herself “to eat in peace ” she explained. But when she flipped the precious burger it fell to the floor.

I watched her face fall as well.

She gently picked up the burger. Although their family’s tradition was not to eat any food that fell on the floor during Pesach (not that eating food off the floor during the rest of the year was a great idea either) she didn’t throw it into the garbage right away.