Raven

Zeal should not outrun discretion.

Thirty-six: The Raven and the Swan.

A Raven saw a Swan, and desired to secure for himself the same beautiful plumage.

Supposing that the Swan's splendid white color arose from his washing in the water in which he swam, the Raven left the altars in the neighborhood where he picked up his living and took his residence in the lakes and pools.

But cleansing his feathers as often as he would, he could not change their color, while through want of food he perished.

Change of habit cannot alter nature.

Some Frogs, frequenting the pool, heard his lamentation, and said, What would you do if you had to live here always, as we do, when you make such a fuss about a mere fall into the water? Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do large misfortunes.

One hundred sixty-five.

He was the only man.

Then Raven appeared to him and the creation of other things began.

Raven made also animals for food and clothing.

Later, because the earth plain was so bare, he planted trees and shrubs and grass and set the green things to growing.

With creation by a great spirit there came dangers from evil spirits.

Such myths are better left among government documents where they can be readily consulted by those making a special study of the subject.

They are hardly suitable for any collection intended for general reading.

The leading myth of the North, however, the Raven myth, is given with a fair degree of completeness.

What's the difference between crows and ravens?

Yeah, so difference between a crow and a raven, crows caw.

[crow cawing] Ravens cork.

[raven cawing] Ravens are about the size of a red-tailed hawk, a four-foot wingspan.

Wow.

Crow is more like two and a half.

Okay.

Ravens have very complex play behaviors, and it's actually kind of similar to crows.

A lot of the studies compare them to crows as well.

But ravens will slide down inclines on their bellies.

Again, I respect your opinion even though you're wrong.

[laughs] All right, we should, I think, finish off with one final question before we present final arguments, and that is Facebook relationship status.

Ravens, males in general, will stand up straighter when the ladies are around, and mates will typically stay together year-round.

Breeding pairs often engage in allopreening.

It watches.

A raven doesn't drift over a mountain ridge looking like it accidentally wandered into the wrong county.

Ravens don't know counties.

It does its thing.

Somewhere along the line, we decided to look up at these enormous birds, these corvids, these blackbirds, following armies, gathering around carcasses, calling out before storms, appearing around sick animals, and behaving with really, absolutely unsettling and unbelievably remarkable intelligence and thought, you know what? Huh, this is weird.

Guess what's even better? A group of ravens is called an unkindness.

An unkindness of ravens.

Ravens also accumulated other collective names over time, including a conspiracy, a treachery, and several other wonderfully accusatory terms.

Old man taught people all they know.

Raven and Creation Haida not long ago there was no land to be seen then there was a little thing in the ocean this was all open sea and raven sat upon this he said become dust it became earth Then it increased and he divided it, and he put this earth into the water on each side of him.

One earth he made small, but he made the one on the other side larger.

Because he made one earth small, this island is small.

So he finished this country.

White men call it the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Again Raven started off.

He came to where Eagle lived, and Eagle owned the freshwater.