The Common Raven

The Science of Birds

Ivan Phillipsen

Natural History, Science, Nature, Birds, Birdwatching, Life Sciences, Biology, Birding

4.8 • 734 Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2022

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode—which is Number 63—is about the Common Raven, Corvus corax. This species is also known as the Northern Raven.Few bird species in the world are as geographically widespread as the Common Raven. And few are as familiar and iconic. This is a really amazing bird.Ornithologists and other scientists have studied ravens extensively, so we know quite a lot about this species.Today, we’ll look at the basic traits of the Common Raven as well as its behavior, habitats, diet, reproduction, a...

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The Tower of London is a castle on the banks of the Thames River,
0:04.8	originally constructed for William the Conqueror way back in the 11th century.
0:09.8	The tower has, at various times, been a royal palace, a prison, and a place to carry out executions.
0:18.4	Today, it's where the crown jewels are kept safe. It's also home to a small
0:24.4	number of ravens. Legend has it that if those ravens were to ever leave the Tower of London,
0:31.1	like if they were to just fly away one day, the tower would crumble into ruin, and so would the British Empire. Wild ravens have been
0:40.4	visiting the tower for hundreds of years. It seems they liked to lurk around to watch prisoners
0:46.7	being executed. They were particularly fond of beheadings. Supposedly when Lady Jane Gray was executed by beheading in 1554, some ravens
0:58.2	swooped in and started pecking at the eyes of the queen's severed head. The ravens that you
1:04.4	find at the tower today aren't wild. They are captive birds. At least six ravens have been kept at the tower since the late
1:12.7	1800s. Their wing feathers are clipped, so that they can't just take off whenever they get bored or restless.
1:19.6	We don't want those ravens to leave. You know, just in case that legend about the British Empire crumbling
1:24.9	has any truth to it. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
1:29.2	But, I mean, there isn't really a British Empire anymore, is there? That all ended in the late 90s.
1:36.1	Maybe the job of the Ravens at the Tower of London now is to keep the United Kingdom from unraveling.
1:42.5	Who knows? If you visit the Tower of London as a tourist, you won't
1:46.5	see anyone get their head chopped off. Right, that's how the Ravens feel about it too. You won't see
1:54.8	executions, but you will, most likely, get to see the Ravens. They're world-famous birds, and much loved by the people of London.
2:04.4	In the gift shop at the tower, you'll find Raven keychains, raven plush toys, raven mugs,
2:10.9	and for all I know, raven toilet paper and raven toenail clippers.
2:16.0	Ravens have, for thousands of years, played important roles in the cultures of not just the
2:21.9	British Isles, but also the cultures of other European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and indigenous
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ivan Phillipsen, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ivan Phillipsen and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.