Author: J.K. Ullrich, Bird Treatment and Learning Center Volunteer
The first six gifts in the carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” are birds (seven, if you consider that “five golden rings” may have originally referred to goldfinches or the ringed plumage on a pheasant’s neck). To celebrate the holiday season, BirdTLC is reimagining the lyrics with native Alaskan birds. Visit our blog every week until the end of December for fun, festive facts about wildlife.
“Four calling birds” weren’t always a musical gift. The song’s first published version in 1780 contained “four colly birds”. “Colly” meant “coal-y”, as in dusted with coal, and colly birds was a common term for blackbirds. (At the time they were edible game—remember the old rhyme about “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie”?) Language shifts eventually changed the carol’s lyrics into the “calling birds” we sing about today.
Both the color and the communicativeness apply to Common Ravens. These year-round Alaskan residents make a wide variety of calls. The classic croak can carry more than a mile, often in response to other ravens heard in the distance. A chicken-like cluck means a predator has been spotted; short, sharp calls accompany chasing off a trespasser. Ravens dueling over food will trill at one another. Females make knocking sounds to establish territorial dominance or during courtship displays.
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Photo credit: Raven calling along the Firehole River. Author: Yellowstone National Park. Public domain.
Ravens raised in captivity can imitate human speech (Roman emperor Julius Caesar reportedly bought trained ravens that would address him as “the victorious commander”). Scientists have identified more than 100 different raven vocalizations. A researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is even using artificial intelligence to categorize raven sounds and search for patterns.
But diversity isn’t the most remarkable aspect of raven vocalization. Biologist Bernd Heinrich argues that the Raven is one of only four animals—along with bees, ants, and humans—that can communicate about things beyond the immediate present. For example, if a lone juvenile raven discovers a carcass guarded by a pair of adult ravens, it will recruit other unattached youngsters to chase off the guards and secure the food for themselves.
Ravens communicate with more than their voices. A 2011 study found that ravens use “referential gestures”, using their beaks and wings to point out objects much like we humans do with our hands. Researchers observed ravens pointing out objects to other birds, usually members of the opposite sex. The ravens would then interact or even manipulate the item together. Such gestures might be a way to assess a prospective partner. If so, these “calling birds” might use their unique communication abilities to find their own “true love”!
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