Day in the Life of a Raven

I used to work at a nature center, and there were many birds that lived on the premises, mostly raptors. This is the raven, and we I was working on training him to be used in educational programs. His name is Manatou, but my nickname for him was 'Ringo' because of his big nose. ;)

This is a video I took in his aviary just for fun. I'm not doing any training here, just hanging out with him. He is a bit jumpy because I have the camera with me and corvids (birds in the family of ravens, crows, and jays) are quite sensitive to changes in their environment. Bringing in a new object makes him upset. He's actually pretty good, considering.

Manatou is a permanent resident at the center because he was taken as a baby by a misguided but well-meaning person who wanted him as a pet. I don't remember his exact story, but he was taken from their custody (or perhaps given up), and cannot be released into the wild due to being imprinted on humans in a way that could be dangerous for him. Don't worry, he has a pleasant existence in a roomy aviary with many toys, plenty of fresh air, and a nice view of the world outside his aviary. He can even see the sky.

As usual, this video comes complete with my inane chatter.

Please note: without proper licenses, it is ILLEGAL to possess or own any wild bird in the US. If you find an injured bird, please phone your local Audubon center or wildlife rehabilitator.

Watch Part 2 (which was supposed to be on the end of this one, but somehow I screwed up) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apmao_O9Nn4

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• raven
• birds
• cute

[ctswright]

can these be found in Indiana? ive seen birds like these but i think we all assumed they were just crows but im not sure. How big can crows be cause these things are HUGE.

[SeventhEve]

@ctswright They're not "supposed" to be in the central and southeastern US, but like they say, birds don't read range maps. They are most common in the far north (and starting to move down the eastern coast, as far as SC) and west of the Rockies. They're hawk-sized -- around 22-30 inches long (crows max out around 20 inches), 40-59 inch wingspan. The best indicators are a wedge-shaped tail (in flight, crows' tails are rounded) and a much thicker bill.

[CvJoey12]

Difference between that and crow is?

[SeventhEve]

@CvJoey12 Though the crow and raven share a genus, they're separate species. A raven is much larger than a crow, with a thicker beak. For more information, I suggest Google.

[heartywhistler]

Me too, except I don't have any hair on my head to pull out.

I got similar comments when I posted some videos on myspace - even though I also posted clear explanations of the animals being non-releasable, why they were non-releasable, and what would happen to them if they were released. Some people don't read, I suppose.

You get a lot of nice comments, though - and that shows there are plenty of intelligent animal lovers out there. Intelligent animal lovers, I salute you!

[SeventhEve]

What kind of employment should this bird have? I don't think the steel mill is hiring.

This raven is imprinted, it cannot survive alone in the wild. We is kept at the nature center as an education bird and has a very nice life.

[infinitecanadian]

@SeventhEve Also, a raven has feathers at the throat that they raise in display, and ravens soar more often than crows.

[CvJoey12]

@SeventhEve Thanks

[Twilight231001]

Awsome bird they have to be a my favoright bird of them all

[arachnidsauce]

@21Assasin hahah true

[21Assasin]

@arachnidsauce never said impossible just improbable.