Ever since hearing as a child that the monarchy of England, and indeed the Tower of London itself, would fall in the event of the resident six ravens leaving, I have been fascinated by ‘raven’ legends and enthralled by the behavioural antics of these highly intelligent and entertaining members of the global Corvid community.

White-necked Raven

The raven also features in Greek mythology with a ‘white’ raven, as Apollo’s appointed messenger, arriving with news of his lover Coronis’s infidelity and being burned black by the incensed Apollo, giving rise to the coal black plumage colouration of ravens to this day…

White-necked Raven

In Norse mythology, ravens are a powerful symbol of wisdom and protection. Odin, the Norse god of the Vikings, also called the ‘Raven God’, was said to have sacrificed an eye in return for wisdom and knowledge which meant he was heavily reliant on his own pet ravens to assist him in watching over the world: Huginn and Muninn, translated as ‘memory’ and ‘thought’ acted as his ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ on his seafaring ventures in search of plunder.

Odin’s ravens ‘Huginn and Munnin’

So much for history and the fabled delights and fantasies of ancient mythology…

Back home in Southern Africa, ravens are resident throughout most of the mountainous regions to the east and south, usually encountered in closely bonded pairs or ’chapters’ as a consort of ravens is descriptively referred to, as distinct from a ‘murder’ of mobbing crows, as another colourfully descriptive collective noun.

White-necked Raven

Pied Crow

Superficially resembling the far more widespread Pied Crow with its distinctive white breast, the White-necked Raven, as the descriptive implies, has the Vicar’s ‘white collar’ and a noticeably heavier bill and its flight silhouette shows broad wings in soaring flight on thermal updraughts…

White-necked Raven harassing a Jackal Buzzard

Last, but not least, ravens, while capable of foraging for small prey of their choosing, appear to delight in harassing the larger raptors within their home range for scraps or possibly just the aerobatic enjoyment of making a nuisance of themselves. This to the irritation of the unfortunate victim of such a pestilent intervention, usually accompanied by a range of far carrying deep-throated ‘croaking’ notes seemingly just for the fun of the tease…

An opportunistic Raven contemplating scavenging from a sub-adult Bearded Vulture