Ravens and Crows: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:TheTwaCorbies.jpg|frame|The Twa Corbies]]

 

{{quote|''"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows."''|'''Henry Ward Beecher'''}}

[[Dark Is Evil|They're dark]]. They sound ominous. They'll eat just about anything they can find, including dead bodies on the battlefield or corpses hanging from the gallows.

 

 

 

On the other hand, corvids are also very clever. This is [[Truth in Television]], as the Beecher quote shows. They may feature a crow as the [[Deadpan Snarker]] or the [[Trickster Mentor]]. While crows and ravens are genuinely capable of speech in [[Real Life]], their speaking voices are almost cartoonish, sounding nothing like the harsh voice of their cawing.

 

 

Corvids suffer from a strange sort of form of the [[Conservation of Ninjitsu]]. A single crow will probably be intelligent (and, if one of the bad guys, will also take an unnerving interest in the heroes). On the other hand, a whole murder of crows/congress of ravens will just be [[Zerg Rush|mindless animals possibly under control of something or someone external]]. Of course, [[One for Sorrow, Two For Joy|the significance of various numbers of corvids]] is the subject of some [[Older Than Feudalism]] superstitions. Sometimes corvids are shown more-or-less positively (although ravens are usually (but not always) more likely to be heroic characters than crows), and in this case their traditional characteristics are [[Dark Is Not Evil|portrayed in a better light]]. Heroic ravens are often wise or intelligent characters, while crows tend to be friendly tricksters or [[Plucky Comic Relief]].

 

 

Crows and ravens tend to fall under the [[Trickster Archetype]]. [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?]] is a matter of [[Your Mileage May Vary|some disagreement.]] For more creepy birds, see [[Feathered Fiend]], but also see the note on scavengers in [[Carnivore Confusion]]. See [[One for Sorrow, Two For Joy]] for magpies, closely related both in [[Real Life]] and in tropes. For black feathers used as symbolism, see [[Feather Motif]].

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* Uchiha Itachi in ''[[Naruto]]'' uses crows as part of his genjutsu.

** Not to mention the infamous [[Fan Nickname|"Murder of Crows"]] jutsu, which is officially named the "Scattering One Thousand Crows Technique." It is, basically, what the official title suggests. Its user, Aoba Yamashiro, is said by fans to have scared two members of Akatsuki into running away with this technique, though it's more likely that there were reinforcements arriving and they were going to leave soon anyway. There are also a variety of other crow-related techniques used by various characters, and one of Kankuro's puppets is called "Crow."

** Actually, that's a cormorant.

* [[Serial Experiments Lain]]'s [[Anime Theme Song|intro song]] features a murder of crows perched all over the streets Lain frequents. Around the end, the camera focuses on a single crow.

* In the Korean [[Manhwa]] ''[[Ragnarok (manhwa)|Ragnarok]]'' there's Muninn and Huginn, Odin's beholders. They are able to [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shapeshift]] from crows with necklaces of eyes and fangs into human women.

* [[Ghost in the Shell]] uses these as a metaphor for individuality: when Batou is debating [[Smug Snake|Goda]] on how a Stand-Alone Complex can be used to unite the people, we see an albino crow flying amongst a murder of regular crows.

* A three-eyed crow demon is one of the first enemies that [[Inuyasha]] and Kagome encounter.

* Nii Jianyi of [[Saiyuki]] is often associated with crows when [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|bunnies]] aren't available. {{spoiler|Goes double for his time as Kenyuu/Ukoku. His section of the Burial arc is full of corvids.}}

 

== Ballads ==

* [[Child Ballad]] 26 "[http://www.bartleby.com/40/12.html The Three Ravens]" features three ravens discussing dinner. They mention a dead knight, but his body is being protected by his hawk and his hounds, and his true love comes to bury him and die of grief. It has a much more cynical variant, "[http://www.bartleby.com/40/13.html The Twa Corbies]", where the ravens instead discuss how the dead knight's hawk, hound, and lady have all deserted him, so they can eat his corpse.

 

* Another [[Neil Gaiman]] example: Matthew in ''[[The Sandman]]''.

** Somewhat of a subversion of the usual, though, as Matthew is friendly, not a trickster (though a bit of a wise guy), pleasant and the most loyal guy in the Dreaming.

** As noted above, Poe shoutouts are common. This is subverted when Matthew gets on top of a bust to shout "'''Nevermore!'''", only to say that he took it from "Peter Lorre in that Roger Corman movie", not knowing that the movie is an adaptation of Poe's ''[[The Raven (poem)|The Raven]]''.

** Only under one writer. Most of the time her pet raven is just a raven, and it depends on the writer whether he's a [[Talking Animal]], or just a relatively ordinary representative of the Corvidae.

* Nestor, [[Saludos Amigos|José]] [[The Three Caballeros|Carioca's]] friend from the Zé Carioca series.

 

== Fairy Tales ==

* In "[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/038.htm The Grateful Beasts]", Ferko, [[Family-Unfriendly Violence|blinded and crippled]] [[Cain and Abel|by his brothers]], rests under what he thinks is a tree; it's a gallows. Two crows talk on it, and he hears how he can cure himself.

 

* [[Alexandra Quick]] plays with this. The wizarding world plays it straight by associating ravens and crows with dark wizards and witches. Alexandra picks a raven as a familar, both to screw with people's expectations of her and to say bullocks to the conventions. Said familar, Charlie, subverts the trope. Jury's still out on whether Abraham Thorn's association with them is a subversion or a straight example.

 

== Film ==

* James O'Barr's ''[[The Crow]]'', both the film and the graphic novel version, has the bird as a kind of guide and familiar to the undead avenger protagonist. In the film version, if the crow dies the avenger becomes mortal again, but doesn't lose his other powers.

* Jake from ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]''.

* They're also pretty remarkable in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[The Birds]]''.

** In a deleted scene we learn that he lost his eye [[Eye Scream|because a crow pecked it out]].

* The eponymous bird in [[Roger Corman]]'s ''The Raven'' is a [[Baleful Polymorph|involuntarily shape-shifted]] wizard.

** However, a less malevolent raven appears with a student at the end of the last film, suggesting that wizards keep them as pets.

* In the new ''[[Sherlock Holmes (film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'', Lord Blackwood, whose father notes at one point has been followed by death his entire life, is also followed by a rather sinister black bird.

** And racial stereotypes (however- note the Crows here are more helpful than Owl *EVER* is to Pooh... so racist but still useful?)

*** Corvids are mimics. Blame the guys in the circus, not the birds.

* Maleficent in ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'' has a pet raven that appears to be the only thing she trusts or cares about.

** It's also her only competent henchman, apparently.

* Hugin and Munin, the pet ravens of Odin, are awesome and they give helpful advice to the main character in the animated movie ''[[Valhalla]]''.

* In ''The Bird War'', the villain is a [[Feathered Fiend]] named Fagin, but it is never specified if he is a crow or a raven.

* Like in the book, ravens and crows are generally an ill omen in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. The "crebain from Dunland" that Legolas sees near the Misty Mountains are implied to be servants of Saruman.

{{quote|'''Gandalf''': The Enemy has many spies ... beasts, and birds ...}}

 

== Literature ==

* Subverted in [[Peter S. Beagle]]'s ''A Fine And Private Place''; a raven helps and cares for the protagonist, Jonathan Rebeck, who lives in a graveyard, giving him food and, later, news.

** In the ''Lay of Leithien'', Beren returns to the hiding place of his comrades to find they have all been killed and crows are feasting on their bodies. Then he hears the crows mocking him for arriving too late to save his companions.

* [[Harry Potter|Ravenclaw]] House, although intelligence is its defining trait and it is not the [[Ambition Is Evil|most sinister]] of the Houses.

** The men of the Night's Watch are disparagingly called "crows."

* Due to the presence of Odin in the story, there are some in [[Douglas Adams]]' novel ''[[The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul|The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul]]''.

** And he [[Never Heard That One Before|does not say the N word]]!

*** It is mentioned offhand that ravens used to be the patron bird of Blind Io due to their intelligence. Ravens seem to have an obsession for eating eyeballs (if Quoth is any indication). Consider the fact that Blind Io has dozens of disembodied eyeballs floating around him, and [[Hilarity Ensues|one sees why ravens are ''no longer'' his patron bird]].

* The seventh book in ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' takes place in a small village that's just overrun with crows. Later books mention or imply that [[Milkman Conspiracy|V.F.D.]] uses them as messenger birds.

* One For Sorrow, the [[Lovable Rogue]] magpie from ''[[The Wild Road]]''. His name pretty much foreshadows what happens to him [[Tear Jerker|* sniff* .]]

* ''[[Animal Farm]]'' has Moses the raven, who is something of a [[Trickster Archetype]]. Like all the animals, he has a [[Meaningful Name]]: he represents the Orthodox Church that was banned, then revived in communist Russia.

* In ''The Crow Chronicles'' by Ranjit Lal, a [[Evil Albino|white crow]] named [[Overly Long Name|Shri Katarnak Kala Kaloota Kawa Kaw Kaw]] is an [[Evil Overlord]]. His [[The Dragon|lieutenant]] is [[Meaningful Name|Depraven Craven Raven]].

** Seventeen books later, ''Doomwyte'' features an evil corvid cult that lives underground, including ravens, crows, and magpies. They are led by a raven named Korvus Skurr.

* Subverted in ''[[The Chronicles of Prydain]]'' with Kaw the crow, who, although talkative and mischievous, is an ally of the good guys. Kaw starts out as the [[Team Pet]], though he later becomes a real hero.

** ''[[American Gods]]'' features Odin as an important character who, at one point, sends a raven to guide the protagonist, Shadow. The raven is able to repeatedly speak the name of the town where Shadow is supposed to go next, and nothing else... until Shadow tries to coax it into saying [[Edgar Allan Poe|"nevermore"]], at which point it replies "fuck you" and flies away.

* Jim Butcher's ''[[Codex Alera]]'' series uses crows as a symbol of death and battle constantly. "Crows" is also commonly used as a swear word, likely for the same reason. They are not considered very clever, though.

** In ''Cursor's Fury'', when the flag of one of Tavi's units is charred and resembles a crow, the soldiers embrace it, becoming the "Battlecrows", so that their foes know the crows are coming for ''them.''

* In ''[[The Edge Chronicles]]'', white ravens are often feared as omens of death. For the most part they are voracious, scrawny scavengers, but at least two white ravens are shown as relatively friendlier and can speak due to being taught by sapient creatures.

* Subverted in ''The Crows of Pearblossom'', a children's book by Aldous Huxley (yes, [[Brave New World (novel)|that]] Aldous Huxley). The main protagonist is a perfectly agreeable mother crow trying to protect her eggs from a [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|rattlesnake]].

* In ''Feather And Bone: The Crow Chronicles'', crows are the protagonistic species and live in strictly organized groups, with their own culture and folklore.

* In ''Half World'', crows are friendly to the protagonist and are able to act as a living passageway between the worlds of the living and the dead, eventually helping her fight the [[Big Bad]].

* In [[Stuck|Stuck At The Wheel,]] the gang led by The Shadow is named the Crows and their calling card is a black crow feather.

* In ''[[Krabat]]'', the boys are turned into ravens when they get lessons in (dark) magic.

* In ''[[Sea of Trolls]]'', {{spoiler|the Bard}} is magically changed into a crow, is nicknamed Bold Heart, and becomes the [[Team Pet]] until he changes back at the end of the book.

 

* The eponymous host of the children's fantasy game show, ''[[Raven]]'' (who is actually a metamorph rather than a bona fide bird), is a subversion of the norm in terms of personality - he's a pretty nice guy, who's probably supposed to be more [[Stern Teacher]] and [[Mr. Exposition]] than anything else. He was also, apparently, an [[Backstory|immortal Celtic warlord]] which fits the trope somewhat closer.

* In ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', Data dreams of a raven who leads him to Dr. Soong, who built him.

* In the mythology of the [[Insane Clown Posse]], corvids are a means by which the dead watch and act upon the world of the living.

* "Ravens" by Ultima Thule.

* Crows appear as a motif in a lot of the [[Gorillaz]] artwork, and the song "O Green World" features one squawking over the instrumentals.

* The song "Crows" by The Gothic Archies, which was written for the audiobook of [[A Series of Unfortunate Events|The Vile Village.]]

 

== Mythology ==

* [[Norse Mythology|Odin]] had two ravens as companions. Their names, Hugin and Munin, suggest that they are his literal Thought and Memory. He sends them out all over the world each day to reconnoiter, and then they sit on his shoulders and tell him what they have seen.

** [[Valkyries]] were shown to be more fearsome and frightening in many earlier depictions, often decorated with crow-related features (such as crow feather cloaks or even feathery black wings). These were possibly inspired by sights of various scavenger birds feeding on corpses after large battles. Later as the Norse Mythology began to be swallowed up by Christians, the Valkyries were [[Our Angels Are Different|overlapped with the more benevolent, similarly serving Angels]]. Nowadays they're almost always depicted as being [[Winged Humanoid|beautiful human-like creatures with feathery white wings]] but the older depictions are popular again.

* There's a story that says that the if the Tower of London's famous ravens ever leave it, the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. After two major disasters struck London in as many years, the king decided he didn't want to find out if bad luck really comes in threes, so he had several ravens' wings clipped to make sure they'd never leave.

** Important to note that all but one raven died during [[World War Two]], they restocked the tower after the war with new ravens...

* In Japanese mythology, Yatagarasu is a [[Rule of Three|three legged crow]] with three magatamas (no, not ''that'' [[Phoenix Wright|magatama]]) who reports to the Sun goddess Amaterasu (yes, that [[Okami|Amaterasu]]; they're the same being).

** As of ''Ace Attorney Investigations''? Yes, [[Phantom Thief|''that'' magatama.]]

 

== Opera ==

* In [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Der Ring Des Nibelungen|Götterdämmerung]]'', Siegfried is killed while he's looking at Wotan's ravens flying overhead.

 

== Poetry ==

* [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s ''[[The Raven (poem)|The Raven]]''. Which, incidentally, has a lot to answer for in how the genus has been portrayed since. People tend to miss the fact that the eponymous bird isn't evil, per se, just [[Tear Jerker|a reminder of the narrator's lost love]].

 

== Professional Wrestling ==

 

== Religion ==

* In [[The Bible]], ravens get several mentions, mostly in the Old Testament:

** A raven was one of the first birds released from Noah's Ark. Unlike the doves, the raven remained in the wilderness until the land dried up enough.

** In the book of Kings, ravens brought food for Elijah during his time in the Kerith Ravine.

* Ravens are associated with some saints, such as Saint Benedict of Nursia and Saint Vincent of Saragossa.

 

== Sports ==

* The Adelaide Crows in [[Australian Rules Football]] - ironic, considering that Adelaide is the capital of South Australia, whose inhabitants are nicknamed "croweaters".

** The Australian Magpie is technically part of the shrike family rather than the corvid family, but the Collingwood Magpies probably qualify anyway.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* The RPG ''[[Exalted]]'' has a [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp]] variation of the raven called a "raiton" that almost always means trouble if you hear their cries; they live in [[Mordor|death-tainted areas]] called Shadowlands and are generally the picture of ominousness.

* In the [[Old World of Darkness]] there was a [[Werewolf: The Apocalypse|shapechanger]] race called Corax who were raven based and the communcations system of Gaia.

** Who, incidentally, did NOT take well to being confused with crows...

** Tzeentch, the Chaos God of knowledge, magic, and intricate scheming, is sometimes referred to as the Raven God. In ''[[Warhammer Online]]'' the Tzeentch-aligned Chaos warcamps usually have a dozen or so ravens either flying around or perched on gibbets, and caster wargear often incorporates a bird skull motif to creepy effect.

** The Raven Queen, the [[Distaff Counterpart|Distaff]] [[Captain Ersatz]] of Morr.

** In ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' Raven's Bluff is named after unusual local birds (big ravens that leave a curse if killed). See also Elaine Cunningham under {{smallcaps|[[Literature]]}} above.

** [[Ravenloft]] has a wereraven lycanthrope.

** D&D had a race of sneaky tengu-inspired bird-people called kenku. However, they [[Sadly Mythtaken|weren't based off of crows until 3e]].

* [[Points of Light]], the intentionally vague default setting of the 4th edition, has The Raven Queen as the goddess of death, who is, as her name implies, heavily associated with various corvids. Interestingly, she is not evil, but [[True Neutral]]. Death comes equally to everyone, after all.

** There's also a spell called "Blood Crow Strike," which creates energy blasts in the shape of fiery crows. Perhaps predictably, it has the evil descriptor.

** There are at least two sorts of psychopomp (the servants of Pharasma, ''another'' [[True Neutral]] [[Dark Is Not Evil|death goddess]]) that look, or can look, corvid: The huge, powerful yamarajes appear part raven and part dragon, and the tiny nosoi often resemble crows.

 

== Theme Parks ==

* A raven shows up multiple times in ''[[The Haunted Mansion]]''. [[What Could Have Been|Originally]], it was going to be the ride's narrator, a role that eventually went to [[The Voice|The Ghost Host]].

* In Dollywood, a ride called the Mystery Mine features ravens throughout the ride, appearing most prominently at the ride's steepest hill and drop.

 

== Video Games ==

* Vulcan Raven from [[Metal Gear Solid]].

** And his successor, Raging Raven, who actually looks vaguely like a raven.

* Murkrow and its evolution Honchcrow in ''[[Pokémon]]''.

** Their behavior in the anime can best be summed up in two words: Flying [[Jerkass]]. Mostly because one of them is trained by Ash's [[The Rival|rival Paul]].

** The same character makes an appearance in ''[[Paper Mario (franchise)|Paper Mario]]'', and he apparently had a [[Heel Face Turn|change of heart]]: now Raphael lives peacefully with the Yoshis on Lavalava Island.

** The ravens in ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' are of varying intelligence, but pretend to be dumb animals when someone else is around.

* Ominous crows are common sights in ''The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure'', and the evil ghost brothers' surname means "crow" in an old regional dialect. A painting of crows becomes a crucial clue.

* One recent [[Nancy Drew (video game)|Nancy Drew]] game uses a flock of crows as an obstacle. Getting past them requires giving each crow an appropriately-colored trinket to distract it.

** That and the fact that his name is Latin for raven, or crow.

** ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' in general features Nocturnal, the Daedric prince of night, darkness and thieves, who is always seen with a raven on each arm, and likes to appear in a flock of them. Corvus' {{spoiler|Grey Fox}} mask is in fact an artifact of hers.

* A recurring enemy in [[Prince of Persia]]: Warrior Within was Crowmaster, who was a [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|Ninja Sand Mummy made of ravens]] what would disperse into its component corvids to move around an area quickly and add platforming into the battle.

* In [[Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon]], Raidou serves the Yatagarasu - often depicted as crows, but only in a boss's battle quote is it made explicit ("So the Foxes still serves the crows!")

* Fiddlesticks and Swain from ''[[League of Legends]].'' Swain turns into a giant crow beast and has two more Poe-based attacks, and Fiddlesticks, well, three words: [[Oh Crap|Caw Caw Caw]].

** Fiddlesticks has a crow theme going for him, being a scarecrow and all. His Dark Wind ability takes the form of a crow, and his Crowstorm ultimate can ruin an entire team's day when he pops out of the brush with it.

* In fitting with the dreary pseudo-Victorian atmosphere, Gilneas City in [[World of Warcraft]] has crows hanging around all over the place. They don't really do anything, though; they're just there for the ambiance.

** The Last Guardian of Tirisfal, Medivh, used ravens as his familiars. He was also able [[Animorphism|to take on raven form at will]].

** ''[[Dark Souls]]'', the [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''[[Demon's Souls]]'' features a giant crow who is able to transport the player character between the Undead Asylum and Firelink Shrine.

* The [[Armored Core]] [[The Verse|'verse]] has [[Private Military Contractor|Ravens, managed by the Raven's Nest.]] And like a flock of Ravens, they're hired by any [[Mega Corp]] that can afford them to cause collateral damage [[Western Terrorists|(even terrorists can hire you to test out their new gear)]]. And guess what? Your [[Villain Protagonist|character]] [[Crapsack World|WORKS for these guys!]]

 

== Web Comics ==

* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (webcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]'', as they dig up [[Cool Gate|the door]], crows slowly accumulate, until it is opened, and [http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/04-49.html they rush in.]

* [[Order of the Stick]]: V's familiar. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0674.html When V remembers that.]

** And his mother, [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Pandora Chaos Raven]].

* In the outside-of-time storyline in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', the sea witch Noga has a flock of pet crow-type birds that are pretty mindless and help her with her magic.

* [[Squid Row]]: In [http://squidrowcomics.com/?p=1702 this] comic, the characters see a wild raven and discuss [[Charles Dickens]] and [[Edgar Allan Poe]].

* [[Tamuran]]: In [http://www.tamurancomic.com/?p=182 this] comic a [[Deadpan Snarker|sarcastic]] raven named Talather acts as a guide to Nashua.

* [[Archipelago]]: The [[Big Bad]] of this comic is The Great Raven, an ancient spirit, fearfully clever, terribly powerful, [[Sealed Evil in a Can|trapped beneath the Earth with a magic seal.]]

** Also present is Raven, who used to be a spiritual handservant for The Great Raven. He's also clever, but he went through a series of events that shook his world [[Heel Face Turn|and made him switch loyalties.]]

* ''[[Homestuck]]'': Dave Strider's apartment block is surrounded by quite a large crow population; one crow dares to invade his room and gets run through with one of Dave's katanas in an inventory mishap, but not before making off with his copies of Sburb. It's later prototyped into Dave's [[Spirit Advisor|sprite]], giving enemies in Sburb wings and a sword through the chest.

 

== Web Original ==

* In ''[[Off White]]'' Ravens are the minions of the dark spirit wolf, though, whether they or the wolf are evil or not has not been revealed yet.

* [http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/depraven.htm The Depraven] hails from Bogleech's [[Mortasheen]]. It actually doesn't have THAT much distortion in terms of ''MOST'' of its anatomy compared to the other [[Eldritch Abominations]] you might meet there, and you may even mistake it for a real crow. That is, of course, until you look between its legs and find out, a second too late, that it's got a [[Biggus Dickus|GREAT BIG PAIR OF DICKS]] [[Face Full of Alien Wingwong|that]] [[Chest Burster|it]] [[Nightmare Fuel|isn't]] [[Squick|afraid to use.]]

 

== Western Animation ==

** The first ''Treehouse of Horror'' did a version of Edgar Allan Poe's ''The Raven''. which is one of the least changed adaptations of the poem.

** With the raven looking like Bart.

** Goofy's pal Ellsworth in the Disney comics is formally a mynah bird, not a crow, but is drawn and characterized almost indistinguishably from the Columbia crow, with the sole difference that Ellsworth talks like a sarcastic snob rather than a sarcastic New Yorker.

* This is where we mention Raven from ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'', right?

* [[Big Bad|Mumm-ra]] from ''[[Thundercats 2011]]'' often turns into a crow in order to [[Hidden in Plain Sight|hide in plain sight]] or get around.

* Raven in ''[[Gargoyles]]'' is a more malevolent version of the Native American trickster figure, capable of changing himself into a human or gargoyle-like form.

 

== Real Life ==

* Do visit [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/crowfaq.htm the Big Crow F.A.Q.], which maintains that fictional corvids are boring compared to their [[Real Life]] counterparts. You can also watch [http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html Joshua Klein] talk about the intelligence of these birds, and how he got some to use a vending machine.

** Indeed, researchers have recently discovered that the Corvidae, especially crows, ravens and magpies are the most intelligent species of birds, and are actually comparable to chimps in creative thinking, although their cooperation skills don't quite match up (but are still considerable).