#44 Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds

by Bernd Heinrich, 356 pages.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly.  Every page was on ravens and the things that they do.  The writer, an animal behaviorist, describes and comes up with plausible explanations of these rather intelligent birds.  Going so far as to say they may even have a consciousness and that they are all individuals.  Nothing about their behavior seems programmed.  They learn most of what they do through experiments and opportunity.  Reading Heinrich's descriptions makes me want to be there with him watching the ravens do their thing.

Also in this book are the ravens in Yellowstone, which may explain why this book was on the visitor's center bookshelf for purchase.  Another explanation ma be that this is a well-written study n ravens without scientific jargon getting in the way of a good read.  One anecdote in the book is of a Yellowstone bison stuck in mud and a couple of enterprising ravens came along and ate his eyeballs.  Other stories are of ravens leading wolves to a carcass so that they can all feed together.  This is beneficial as ravens do not have he abilities to open a carcass and are naturally limited to the eyes and the tongue (the only exposed pieces of meat).

I must say that my admiration and awe of this bird has greatly increased since reading this book.  The reason I picked up this book in the first is after watching a raven swoop down and catch a whistlepig.  It placed its foot on the whistlepig and gave 4-5 sharp jabs with its beak until it was dead and then flew off with it.  I didn't know ravens ate whistlepigs, but apparently they eat almost anything, including bison eyeballs.