Two days ago The Significant Otter and me went to Scotland. Amazingly, the weather was OK. Even, astoundingly, very good. Birds, however, were thin on the ground. Slightly less thin in the air. [ And over the whole day, at home, on the way to Scotland, walking around a bit of Scotland, coming back from Scotland, and then being at home again, I only saw 1 (one) Swift. [ Compared to a massive 4 the day before. But I digress]. While we sat on a bit of Scotland, a Raven flew over us, and carried on into the distance. As it got smaller and smaller, it did a roll. Just the one. It's always a fine thing to see. BUT ... why? Why did it do a roll at that moment? And not 17 seconds before ? Or 17 seconds later ? Why did it only do one of them ? The usual theory about " that sort of thing" is the "showing their thermometers" scenario. Showing their fitness and strength and skill. Demonstrating their daringness/bravado ? Look, I can roll over, I can swoop, I can dive into a lake from 200' up, I can catch and kill a rat, I can drill holes in trees to dig out grubs .... I'm strong and tough. But this Raven had no other Ravens to show off that roll to. Whatever it was "for", it was wasted because it was unseen by the presumed target ... another Raven. So maybe it did it just "because it could." Like those gormless teenagers who whizz along the pavement on their £400 bikes with their smartphone in one hand and the other hand in their pocket. And as for that lone Raven in a hostile world... maybe it was thrilling and exciting.... fun, I suspect, was out of the question. This is the nearest relevant thing I could find .... and now, as usual ,a spot of relevant music ... Afterthoughts ......
[a] Is it only the male that rolls ? [b] Is it only "big" birds that roll? I've never seen small birds do it .. or even medium-sized ones. [c] But why not ? [d] Do they always "do" it the same way .... clockwise or anticlockwise ? [e] That one did it clockwise viewed from the back. [f] Do they do it so they can check that there's no predators above them ? [g] Are there any research papers about this phenomenon ? [h] Is this paragraph below the only thing I could find ? [i] Yes. Flight Because ravens consume a lot more carrion, which is unpredictable in its availability and location, they spend a great deal more soaring than crows do. So if you see a black bird cruising the sky for more than a few seconds, it’s most likely a raven. Ravens are also unique from crows in that they barrel roll to advertise their territory. So if you see a barrel rolling bird, there’s a better chance it’s a raven. So there we are ..... we've hit the buffers on that topic.
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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