Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!lll-winken!ames!skipper!shafer From: shafer@elxsi.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer (OFV)) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Ravens Message-ID: Date: 4 Mar 90 17:50:15 GMT References: <19861@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> Sender: shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal. Lines: 33 In-reply-to: dragon@eleazar.dartmouth.edu's message of 2 Mar 90 23:08:31 GMT In article <19861@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> dragon@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Sam Conway) writes: Thus, the best place to observe a raven is in the wild. If you are patient, these birds, natural performers all, will very likely give you a good demonstration of their remarkable intellect. Just don't bring your lunch: while you're busy watching one, his friend may be sneaking into your picnic basket to see what you've brought! When we were at Denali National Park the guides told us a good raven tale. Climbers on Mt McKinley cache their food and other equipment at about 18,000 ft while they make a dash for the summit (not quite 21,000 ft). These caches are marked with something red like a bandanna. The local ravens figured out the system, learning that a pile of rocks or snow with red on the top has food in it. The ravens have become very good at robbing these caches. 18,000 ft! As I mentioned elsewhere, I have a pair of ravens nesting in my back yard for the third year now. They are really fascinating to watch, training the young to be predators. We also have a group that lives near Dryden. In the summer afternoons they slope soar over a properly oriented building, giving us a great display of aerobatics. Jonathan Livingston Seagull would have never been frustrated if he'd been Jonathan Livingston Raven. The ravens do great snap rolls, barrel rolls, and loops. -- Mary Shafer shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov or ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA Of course I don't speak for NASA