avesnoir

©Jutta Maue Kay Jutta Maue Kay is a German native with a passion for human rights and conservation. She has been all over the world, and currently resides in Vancouver, where her newest subjects are in vast abundance. The images she captures of the Ravens and Carrion Crows of the Pacific Northwest are truly special. Each one is infused with

If it is raining and gloomy where you are, then it is time to snuggle up in your favorite blanket, make some popcorn, and watch a really good (or awesomely bad) movie to celebrate Halloween. Ravens, Crows, and black feathered birds of all kinds have appeared in movies since film was invented.  Their voices and presence enable the film creators

The scarecrow is commonly associated with modern references like the Wizard of Oz and Batman, but its original purpose was to discourage birds such as crows or magpies from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.The earliest reference is in Japanese lore (circa 700 AD) in which a Kuebiko is depicted as adiety which knows everything of the world from its unmoving location among the fields.

It is  the time when the crows begin to form small roosting groups in the evening. Observers may note flights of crows all heading in one direction in late afternoon/evening or gathering in a group in the treetops. These gatherings are generally much smaller that the large winter communal roosts and we presume they

The raven as the icon of black beauty, primordial intelligence, mystery and the old ones. Is the etymology of corvid derived from the ancient Proto-Indo European seed sound kos, for shout? That would seem appropriate ravens for shouting. Marketing as the shout, raven-style. But it's the sound of the kraaak and croak that reaches to the heart of the word and the story "“ and running the linguistic gauntlet for several thousand years, the sounds of the black one, the ravening clan, that first bespeak the legend.

By Richard George Crows roost in large, sometimes huge murders (a flock is called a murder) at night. A hundred years ago one could find these roosts just outside villages and towns, and it was thought they did this for safety from dogs, cats and owls that like to nest in human built structures. Now, however, these roosts are most

By Forwearemany Jean de La Fontaine (July 8, 1621, Chateau-Thierry, April 13, 1695) was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. While he did not hesitate to borrow freely from other writers, both ancient and modern, Jean de La Fontaine nevertheless created a style and a poetic universe at

The Red Door "Today I heard a raven in the distance. As he flew over me he sent out his throaty, gravelly call. I called back, pretty nicely I might add, but he kept going without answering. However, as he flew by, the whispers of his wings pushing the air landed so quietly on my ears it nearly took my