beledi

inspired by dillenger's photojournalistic account of a crow, here's some corvid-y stuff for you.

"If men had wings and bore black feather, few of them would be clever enough to be crows" ~Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Mid-1800s

Crows, ravens, and jays are a member of the crow family, Corvidae, or corvids. Not a particulary remarkable name, but a rather remarkable group of 103 species of crowlike birds. Classified under the genus Corvus, these birds tend to exhibit remarkable intelligence for a bird. There are accounts of crows learning to operate crosswalk lights so that they can stop traffic and get out into the street to collect food that may be in the crosswalk. Ravens have the ability to make over 60 distinct vocalizations, one of the widest ranges of sounds aside from humans.

Mired in mythology, many cultures revere or fear the raven, touting them as the creator, to the mischevious troublemaker. They're fascinating critters, these corvids, find out more about them if you can. Or else I can keep babbling about them, you could learn that way too.

Magpie Counting Rhyme
One for sorrow,
Two for mirth,
Three for a wedding,
Four for birth,
Five for rich,
Six for poor,
Seven for a witch -
I can tell you no more.
~ English counting rhyme.

have a great saturday my lovelies