Royal raven keepers and songbird vocalisations

A very brief royal raven history

Don’t judge a bird by its literary references: that’s the moral of this story. Curious? Good. It’s a sign of intelligence and corvids are, amongst many other things, curious birds—in all senses of the phrasing. Here’s a curiosity for you: Legend has it that if the ravens should ever leave the Tower of London, the kingdom would fall.

According to the stories, it was Charles II who first decreed that at least six ravens be housed in the tower, under protection, so as to avoid this ill future. And so, the role of Master Keeper of the ravens of the Tower of London was born.

Despite clipping their wings (of which I’m not a fan) past ravens have managed to shirk their duties; the last known sighting of Raven Grog was in 1981, outside an East End pub named the Rose and Punchbowl. That’s not all: ravens can also be relieved of their post for poor conduct. Raven George was dismissed in 1986 after having developed “an unhealthy taste for TV aerials”—historic-uk.com. But this isn’t the curiosity; there’s more.

And now, royal ravens in Yorkshire

London’s not the only place to house royal ravens. Enter: Knaresborough, Yorkshire. What began as a project to inspire local children’s interest in the history of the town eventually became an ongoing —and much unsung— tourist attraction for Yorkshire.

Janette Ingrain Hustwitt Skelton is Her Majesty’s Keeper of Castle Ravens, Knaresborough, and she has a wonderful collection of corvids. It all started with her book, which notes several historic Knaresborough spots, and the acquisition of a raven thusly named after the book’s main character, Ravenelf.

Since Igraine was pals with Mr Cope at the Tower of London (the then Master Raven Keeper), she asked his advice regarding how to obtain insurance to showcase Ravenelf at the castle. If she could attract folks to see Ravenelf, should could promote her story and local history.

A plan hatched to create the Northern version of the Tower, in celebration of the millennium, and official permission was then granted, along with a royal raven chick. She’s been performing her duties as HRM’s Keeper ever since. Still curious? You can meet these beautiful birds for yourself, as Igraine is often to be found around the castle grounds, accompanied by her feathered friends. Fly her an email if you want to check her schedule and she’ll get back to you promptly.

I was fortunate enough to spend a good few hours with them (a dream come true for this corvid fanatic) and even caught some footage of Ravenelf singing and talking. Talking? Indeed. Ravens are the world’s largest song bird and have the capacity for incredible mimicry. Check out Ravenelf’s delightful Yorkshire accent below. With Mother Shipton’s Cave and the petrifying well nearby, as well as the gorgeous natural scenery, a visit to see Igraine and the ravens of Knaresborough is most totally worthwhile.

These birds tell it like it is

So, how about the science behind the speech? It’s not just the ability to almost perfectly mimic people talking (amongst various other complex environmental sounds) that indicates their intellect but the complexity and range of their vocalisations.

Although understudied, it’s been noted that ravens have a huge variety of calls that change according to context—there are alarm calls, chase calls, flight calls, and more. It’s even rumoured they’ll mimic wolves to attract them to carcasses they need help getting into.

Scientists have placed their vocalizations into as many as 33 different categories based on sound and context. The most commonly heard is the classic gurgling croak, rising in pitch and seeming to come from the back of the throat. It’s much deeper and more musical than a crow’s simple, scratchy caw.—allaboutbirds.org. The world is full of curiosities, and staying curious pays off. More corvid facts to come.