Monday, March 28, 2011

More of my Favourites of the Vermilon River. A Post to My World Tuesday.


Hugin, My favourite Raven.
 This is my second do of this post because of the snafu that blogger got us into over up loading photos to blogs. Anyway, Ravens are extraordinary birds because of their association, of course, with Poe. Perhaps this is more our N. American perspective than anything else. As these guys are associated with Viking legends and aboriginal legends much older than Poe's work. Hugin and his associate sat at the shoulder of Odin, king of the Viking gods, dispensing advice, although of a tricky nature.

Hugin in profile
 You can see from the profile that they are easy to confuse with N. Crows. The difference the most easy to spot is the the rough shaggy mane on the Raven, as shown above. The opposite shot is the same Raven. This time he is not showing his mane which leads to confusion. Ravens are larger but if you don't have a  crow to compare with it's a useless comparison.

A Loud Hugin
 Hugin is one of a flock and the noise is incredible. Hilke in one of her comments said it sounds like a crow on steroids, and that is an apt description. Ravens are incredibly intelligence in the cognitive sense. In an experiment, a perch was set up for the Raven and from it a string with loops was suspended. At the bottom of the string food was tied onto the string. Four out of five Ravens were able to pull the food up using the loops. The same test was used on polticians. Zero out of ten were able to figure the process out, although all admitted they recognized the bribe at the bottom of the string.

The Regal Raven




He's really remarkable in looks isn't he. These guys average about 31 inches in length; a crow runs about 27 inches in length.


Female RedPoll
 You can never have enough photos of RedPolls.

Female RedPoll


Female RedPoll


Male RedPoll
 A Post to My World Tuesday @ http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

20 comments:

  1. Love your ravens AND redpolls. Can never have enough of either!!! We get crows here but not ravens (as far as I know). :)

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  2. Love them both! It appears the redpolls are having a conversation with you. Cute. :)

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  3. You do have some great bird shots! Love that raven...

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  4. They are great pictures, the Raven steals my heart away.

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  5. Terrific captures and, yes, the raven stole my heart away, too!! Enjoy a wonderful week!

    Sylvia

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  6. Interesting. I never knew any of the comparisons!
    (I am not too brilliant when it comes to knowing my birds and characteristics!)
    BUT...I do KNOW that, nope- can never have too many Redpoll pictures! My favorite:)

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  7. you take very good shots of birds. do keep up this good work.

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  8. Wow - the red really shows up on the breast of the RedPoll against the white snow.

    And your "Regal Raven" photo is fabulous.

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  9. I'm surprised the politicians didn't get all tangled up in the loops. I like ravens, but there are none around here. I like crows too, though I do get quite peeved at them when they figure out faster than the feral cat I feed that the food is out.

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  10. Wonderful shots of two lovely birds. Very nice contrast.

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  11. Oh, I LOVE your raven! I'm just getting to know some of the crows along Deep Canyon and I see some in the mornings on my walk by the golf resort. Yes, they are amazing animals!

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  12. Ravens are great birds, as long as they're not tapping on my window! Nice shots.

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  13. I love the photos of the redpoll. I don't think I've ever seen one in real life.

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  14. Cool shots of the ravens and I love the redpolls.

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  15. Terrific info on Ravens, how to distinguish them from crows by scraggly neck feathers, size, voice... you got it. Just want to mention the article on eBird (3/22) about differentiating the two, along with voice recordings. Love your shots of Hugin and of the Redpolls!

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  16. Wonderful profiles and silhouettes.

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  17. Thanks for the lesson on crows and ravens, it was very informative. The redpools look like the house finches we have here on the VA eastern shore.

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  18. lovely shots..followed you, follow me back

    visiting from My World...
    mine's here:
    http://kc2009.blogspot.com/2011/03/mag-aso-getaway.html

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  19. I had the same problem with blogger! Great photos and great timing with the third one.

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  20. I don't think that I've ever seen a raven. Good to know what to look for when I think I see a crow.

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