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Monitoring of breeding success in wildlife is key for evaluating population trends and support conservation measures. However, it is challenging depending on breeding places or non-accessible habitat. In recent years, new technologies were applied to studies of bird biology, i.e. drones. UAV (drones) are available to study new aspects of bird ecology, which are not available using traditional methods. The Raven Corvus corax predominantly nests in upper tree canopies or on high cliffs. Hence, it is challenging to monitor it breeding success from the ground. Our study were conducted in forests in NE Poland, on the 77 arboreal Raven nests in 2021–2022. By using drones, we investigated (i) whether the classic data on breeding success from ground observations differ from those of nest inspections via drone, and (ii) to what extent the adult birds behave when the drone is used at the nest. The inspection from the ground failed to determine the contents of as many as 30% of the occupied nests. Inspections using a drone and those made from the ground yielded different results, as aerial assessment showed a higher number of the young (respectively 1.93 vs. 3.22 per successful brood). Broods with three young accounted for 6.5% of nests controlled from the ground and 23.3% using a drone, while broods with two young accounted for 33.8% and 10.4% of nests, respectively. During most of the inspected nests (65% of the cases), adult birds sat nearby in the tree tops and called. In 12% of the cases, the birds flew close to the nest, passing the drone at a distance of more than 20 m, and did not attempt to approach the device. In four cases, adult birds closed the drone at less than 10 m. A direct collision did not happen. The most vital reactions were recorded in several instances (only 4.2%) in which the birds were not near the nest when the inspection began but arrived during the inspection. Drone surveys have revealed previously un-described behavior of birds, alarmed at the examination of empty nests. In 50 nests, 65% of the cases, the Raven tolerated the drone's presence at the nest, although the birds showed concern and occasionally defensive reactions. It seems that the adverse reaction of birds is weaker when they associate the appearance of a drone with human presence. Key recommendations: control in teams of two - operator and observer, starting end landing in close vicinity of the nest tree, immediate interruption of flight if birds react, forbade flying directly over the nest. It is advisable to check the reaction of adult Ravens to drone inspections of nests with small nestlings. To sum up, our study showed that the drone inspections did not harm the adult birds but provides a more reliable data for reproduction than the observation from ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing methods that allow for more focused management of wildlife under predator pressure may increase the efficiency of managing problematic predators. Non‐invasive dietary analysis and identification of conservation‐sensitive prey in the diet of 'culprit' predator individuals could help to facilitate this and is worthy of exploration. Recently on Phillip Island, Australia, Little Ravens Corvus mellori have emerged as a prominent predator on the clutches of burrow‐nesting Little Penguins Eudyptula minor. We tested the feasibility of using non‐invasive PCR approaches targeting the penguin mitochondrial 16S rRNA marker gene to establish whether penguin DNA could be detected in raven faecal samples, potentially enabling the identification of culprit ravens missed by extensive field observation. Using a metabarcoding approach, we examined the feasibility of non‐invasively establishing other dietary items via high‐throughput amplicon sequencing. We documented components of raven diet using the universal mitochondrial 16S rRNA, insect‐specific 'Chiar' 16S rRNA and plant ITS2. The assemblage of dietary items did not differ with raven culprit status (i.e. a raven previously observed preying upon penguin), sex or date. Penguin was detected in the diet of some individuals classified observationally as non‐culprits. Although some cases may conceivably have been false detections, other explanations include missed depredation events, consumption via scavenging or through secondary consumption (e.g. eating invertebrates that have consumed penguin). While this study found metabarcoding unreliable for unambiguous assigning of raven culprit status, at least as we implemented it, it may hold promise complementing observations if consumption via scavenging can be distinguished from direct depredation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Raven Sentry, a project that employed artificial intelligence to provide advance warning of insurgent attacks in Afghanistan. During 2019 and 2020, the Resolute Support Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (J2) benefited from a command culture open to innovation, the urgency created by the US drawdown, and a uniquely talented group of personnel that, aided by commercial sector experts, built an AI system that helped predict attacks. The war's end cut Raven Sentry short, but the experience provides important lessons on AI and the conditions necessary for successful innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To determine if a cytochrome (CYP) P450 enzyme inhibitor can maintain therapeutic plasma levels of voriconazole when administered orally. ANIMALS 11 healthy, common ravens (Corvus corax). METHODS Birds were randomly assigned to pilot study groups to receive voriconazole orally alone or combined with a CYP inhibitor. Pilot studies with 3 CYP inhibitors launched the main study using ciprofloxacin (20 mg/kg) followed 1 hour later by voriconazole (6 mg/kg) every 12 hours for 14 days. Plasma voriconazole concentrations were measured at various time points by HPLC-MS. The study period lasted from September 2016 to December 2020. RESULTS The birds failed to maintain therapeutic plasma levels of voriconazole during multidose administration alone or following preadministration with various CYP inhibitors. For the 14-day study period, voriconazole reached a maximum plasma concentration of 2.99 μg/mL with a time-to-peak drug concentration of 1.2 hours following preadministration of ciprofloxacin. One bird was removed from the study due to lethargy, but the other birds completed the study without incident. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Ciprofloxacin (20 mg/kg) followed by voriconazole (6 mg/kg) maintained the concentration of voriconazole within the recommended therapeutic range of 0.5 to 5 μg/mL without toxicity. Ciprofloxacin prevented the saturable metabolism of voriconazole and maintained these levels for the study duration. This drug combination could be used in the treatment of chronic aspergillosis in the common raven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Corvid behaviour is an area of interest for behavioural ecologists and conservationists alike. This explanatory study reports a novel behaviour, aluminium can perforation, presented by the common raven (Corvus corax) captured using camera trap technology and behavioural scoring. This study considers the ontogeny and motivation for this behaviour to begin to elucidate its purpose. The results suggest that camera trap technology is useful for capturing behaviour that may not be recorded via human observation, which, in this study, was predominantly can manipulation. However, human observation captured a significantly greater number of maintenance behaviours compared to camera trap collection methods. Can manipulation observations were clustered in human-inhabited areas, potentially due to the abundance of cans in these areas, with the suggested motivations for this behaviour including the olfactory properties of the cans and the performance of can manipulation to extract prey from the cans. This research contributes to our knowledge of corvid behavioural repertoires and paves the way for further research into corvid behaviour on the island of Lanzarote. This study examines the common raven (Corvus corax) population on Lanzarote, Spain, at a previously unstudied site. The study aimed to compare the use of camera trap technology and human observation in capturing a wide repertoire of raven behaviour and pay close attention to the perforation of aluminium cans, a behaviour that has not been described in the scientific literature previously but has been reported anecdotally through human observation. Five cameras were sited over a period of 6 months, with three aluminium cans placed at each location. One of the three cans was baited with meat and eggs, mimicking wild feeding substrate. Human observations took place over the same period of time in the same locations. Raven sightings were highly correlated in human-inhabited areas as well as agricultural areas, seemingly linked to food acquisition. Camera trap technology identified a greater number of can-orientated behaviours (interaction, manipulation, peeking inside, and pecking) compared to the human observation method. Conversely, human observation yielded a greater number of non-can-orientated behaviours (analysed as a group) when compared to that of camera trap observation. Overall, there was a significantly greater number of ravens observed via human observation when compared to that of camera trap observation. Initial evidence suggests that ravens only perforate cans they deem salient in terms of food acquisition, with beer cans being the most common focus of the behaviours observed, possibly linked to olfactory stimuli, the movement of the can or learned behaviour relating to reward acquisition. This study presents new data regarding object interaction in ravens, adding to the current body of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commentators have long struggled to make sense of the role that ravens play in the story of Elijah, questioning why these predatory birds with a reputation for cruelty would be recruited to share their food during a time of scarcity. This essay takes up the reception history of biblical ravens, considering how various interpreters have drawn upon observational knowledge of ravens to explain the mysterious role ravens play in the feeding of Elijah in 1 Kings 17 and Noah's commission of the raven in the wake of the flood in Genesis 8. The essay both recalls and reenacts this interpretive tradition by assembling together pieces of this reception history together with the work of modern ornithologists on the corvus corax to provide some insights for how we might understand the particular significance of ravens in the care and feeding of Elijah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ravens and other corvids are renowned for their 'intelligence'. For long, this reputation has been based primarily on anecdotes but in the last decades experimental evidence for impressive cognitive skills has accumulated within and across species. While we begin to understand the building blocks of corvid cognition, the question remains why these birds have evolved such skills. Focusing on Northern Ravens Corvus corax, I here try to tackle this question by relating current hypotheses on brain evolution to recent empirical data on challenges faced in the birds' daily life. Results show that foraging ravens meet several assumptions for applying social intelligence: (1) they meet repeatedly at foraging sites, albeit individuals have different site preferences and vary in grouping dynamics; (1) foraging groups are structured by dominance rank hierarchies and social bonds; (3) individual ravens memorize former group members and their relationship valence over years, deduce third-party relationships and use their social knowledge in daily life by supporting others in conflicts and intervening in others' affiliations. Hence, ravens' socio-cognitive skills may be strongly shaped by the 'complex' social environment experienced as non-breeders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raven's advanced progressive matrices (APM) comprise two types of representational codes, namely visuo-spatial and verbal-analytical, that are used to solve APM puzzles. Studies using analytical, behavioral, and imaging methods have supported the multidimensional perspectives of APM puzzles. The visuo-spatial code is expected to recruit operations more responsive to the visual perception tasks. In contrast, the verbal-analytical code is expected to use operations more responsive to the logical reasoning task and may entail di_erent cognitive strategies. Acknowledging di_erent representational codes used in APM puzzle-solving is critical for a better understanding of APM's performance and their relationship with other tasks, especially creative reasoning. We used the eye-tracking method to investigate the role of two representational codes, visuo-spatial and verbal-analytical, in strategies involved in solving APM puzzles and in generating an APM-like puzzle by using a creative-reasoning task (CRT). Participants took longer time to complete the verbal-analytical than visuo-spatial puzzles. In addition, visuo-analytical than visual-spatial puzzles showed higher progressive and regressive saccade counts, suggesting the use of more response elimination than constructive matching strategies employed while solving verbal-analytical than visuo-spatial puzzles. We observed higher CRT scores when it followed verbal-analytical (Mdn = 84) than visuo-spatial (Mdn = 73) APM puzzles, suggesting puzzle-solving specific strategies a_ect puzzle-creating task performance. The advantage of verbal-analytical over visuo-spatial puzzle-solving has been discussed in light of shared cognitive processing between APM puzzle-solving and APM-like puzzle-creating task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baseline haematological and biochemical blood parameters in healthy wild birds are key to managing wild populations and to saving critically ill individuals. This knowledge is crucial for the care, rehabilitation and the release of birds after treatment in wildlife rescue centres. Plasma levels provide valuable information for the evaluation of the physical condition of animals. The objective of this study was to obtain reference values of some basic biochemical blood parameters of wild common ravens (Corvus corax). Between 2020 and 2023, we took blood samples from the wild population of common ravens in Bulgaria (n = 36). We determined the values of 18 parameters - alanine transaminase (ALT, U/I), albumin (g/l), alkaline phosphatase (ALP, U/I), amylase (U/I), aspartate transaminase (AST, U/I), calcium (mmol/l), chloride (mmol/l), cholesterol (mmol/l), creatine kinase (CK, U/I), creatinine (μmol/l), blood glucose (mmol/l), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, U/I), magnesium (mmol/l), phosphorus (mmol/l), total bilirubin (μmol/l), total protein (g/l), triglycerides (TG, mmol/l) and uric acid (μmol/l). We made a comparative analysis including the regions in which the groups were sampled and the time of year. Most of the presented results were comparable to published values of other species from the Corvidae family and some were higher (ALP, amylase, AST, CK, total protein and uric acid levels). Most of these could be explained by the capture- and handling stress. This is the first report in official literary sources presenting some basic biochemical blood parameters of healthy wild common ravens in Bulgaria. The results may be of use to scientists, veterinarians and other researchers in rescue and rehabilitation centres and they can provide the basis for further studies with regards to animal welfare and health assessment of the species.

Flapping Wing Air Vehicles (FWAVs) have proven to be attractive alternatives to fixed wing and rotary air vehicles at low speeds because of their bio-inspired ability to hover and maneuver. However, in the past, they have not been able to reach their full potential due to limitations in wing control and payload capacity, which also has limited endurance. Many previous FWAVs used a single actuator that couples and synchronizes motions of the wings to flap both wings, resulting in only variable rate flapping control at a constant amplitude. Independent wing control is achieved using two servo actuators that enable wing motions for FWAVs by programming positions and velocities to achieve desired wing shapes and associated aerodynamic forces. However, having two actuators integrated into the flying platform significantly increases its weight and makes it more challenging to achieve flight than a single actuator. This article presents a retrospective overview of five different designs from the "Robo Raven" family based on our previously published work. The first FWAVs utilize two servo motors to achieve independent wing control. The basic platform is capable of successfully performing dives, flips, and button hook turns, which demonstrates the potential maneuverability afforded by the independently actuated and controlled wings. Subsequent designs in the Robo Raven family were able to use multifunctional wings to harvest solar energy to overcome limitations on endurance, use on-board decision-making capabilities to perform maneuvers autonomously, and use mixed-mode propulsion to increase payload capacity by exploiting the benefits of fixed and flapping wing flight. This article elucidates how each successive version of the Robo Raven platform built upon the findings from previous generations. The Robo Raven family collectively addresses requirements related to control autonomy, energy autonomy, and maneuverability. We conclude this article by identifying new opportunities for research in avian-scale flapping wing aerial vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic resource subsidization across western ecosystems has contributed to widespread increases in generalist avian predators, including common ravens (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven). Ravens are adept nest predators and can negatively impact species of conservation concern. Predation effects from ravens are especially concerning for greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage‐grouse), which have experienced prolonged population decline. Our objectives were to quantify spatiotemporal patterns in raven density, evaluate sage‐grouse nest success concurrent with fluctuating raven densities, and demonstrate a spatially explicit decision support tool to guide management applications to appropriate conflict areas. We combined ~28,000 raven point count surveys with data from more than 900 sage‐grouse nests between 2009 and 2019 within the Great Basin, USA. We modeled variation in raven density using a Bayesian hierarchical distance sampling approach with environmental covariates on detection and abundance. Concurrently, we modeled sage‐grouse nest survival using a hierarchical frailty model as a function of raven density and other environmental covariates that influence the risk of nest failure. Raven density commonly exceeded 0.5 ravens km−2 and increased at low elevations with more anthropogenic development and/or agriculture. Reduced sage‐grouse nest survival was strongly associated with elevated raven density (e.g., >0.5 ravens km−2) and varied with topographic ruggedness, shrub cover, and burned areas. For conservation application, we developed a spatially explicit planning tool that predicts nest survival under current and reduced raven numbers within the Great Basin to help direct management actions to localized areas where sage‐grouse nests are at highest risk of failure. Our modeling framework can be generalized to multiple species where spatially registered abundance and demographic data are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algeria is situated in the transition zone between two biogeographical regions, the Western Palaearctic and the Afrotropical. It covers a vast territory characterized by three main ecosystems: the Tell, the plateaux, and the Sahara. The two species of crows, the Brown-necked Raven Corvus ruficollis and the Northern Raven Corvus corax occupy very distinct territories, the first frequenting the southern part of the Saharan Atlas and the second the northern part. The incursion of the Pied Crow Corvus albus into the territory occupied by the Northern Raven was reported for the first time when two individuals of this species were observed in a technical landfill center located between Aflou and Gueltat Sidi Saad (34°13'12" N, 2°01'33" E, 1235 m.a.s.l.) on April 06, 2023. This also shows the cohabitation of this species with the other two Crow species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gaze following refers to the ability to co-orient with others' gaze directions. Ontogenetic studies on gaze following in animals have predominantly used human experimenters as demonstrators. It is, however, likely that developing animals are initially more attuned to individuals from their own species, which might result in differences in the ontogenetic onset of gaze following with human and conspecific demonstrators. "Checking back" is a signature behaviour in the gaze following repertoires of humans, apes, and some Old world monkeys. It is commonly interpreted as a representation of the referentiality of gaze and is thus diagnostic of social predictions. Recently, "checking back" has been discovered in four avian species, suggesting a shared skill among birds. To investigate effects of con- and allospecific demonstrators on gaze following responses, we studied visual co-orientations of four hand-raised juvenile common ravens (Corvus corax) with human and conspecific gaze cues. Moreover, we for the first time investigated "checking back" in ravens and compared the effects of con- and allospecific demonstrators on this behaviour. Ravens followed human and conspecific gaze with no apparent differences in ontogenetic onset, but after significantly longer latencies with human demonstrators. Subjects moreover already checked back at 30 days old and did so significantly more often with conspecific demonstrators. Our findings suggest differences in processing speed and social predictions of human and conspecific gazes, indicating an underlying neurocognitive mechanism attuned to social information gathering from conspecifics. We propose more studies using conspecific demonstrators to reveal the full gaze following potential of a species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baseline haematological and biochemical blood parameters in healthy wild birds are key to managing wild populations and to saving critically ill individuals. This knowledge is crucial for the care, rehabilitation and the release of birds after treatment in wildlife rescue centres. Plasma levels provide valuable information for the evaluation of the physical condition of animals. The objective of this study was to obtain reference values of some basic biochemical blood parameters of wild common ravens (Corvus corax). Between 2020 and 2023, we took blood samples from the wild population of common ravens in Bulgaria (n = 36). We determined the values of 18 parameters - alanine transaminase (ALT, U/I), albumin (g/l), alkaline phosphatase (ALP, U/I), amylase (U/I), aspartate transaminase (AST, U/I), calcium (mmol/l), chloride (mmol/l), cholesterol (mmol/l), creatine kinase (CK, U/I), creatinine (μmol/l), blood glucose (mmol/l), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, U/I), magnesium (mmol/l), phosphorus (mmol/l), total bilirubin (μmol/l), total protein (g/l), triglycerides (TG, mmol/l) and uric acid (μmol/l). We made a comparative analysis including the regions in which the groups were sampled and the time of year. Most of the presented results were comparable to published values of other species from the Corvidae family and some were higher (ALP, amylase, AST, CK, total protein and uric acid levels). Most of these could be explained by the capture- and handling stress. This is the first report in official literary sources presenting some basic biochemical blood parameters of healthy wild common ravens in Bulgaria. The results may be of use to scientists, veterinarians and other researchers in rescue and rehabilitation centres and they can provide the basis for further studies with regards to animal welfare and health assessment of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corvids are known for their cognitive flexibility, and many have innovated various forms of tool use. Here, we review tool use and tooling in common ravens (Corvus corax) and describe additional observations. In total, they have used tools in 10 submodes and 11 modes. Of these modes, four were observed in captivity only, four in the wild only and three in both contexts. Five of these modes constitute tooling. When they manufactured tools, it was through detachment or subtraction. The purpose of most tool use was apparent, except when they used containers to transport small amounts of food that could be held in their bill and antelingual pouch (estimated to hold at least 16.2 ml). The small number of tool‐using individuals per mode and the lack of detailed descriptions limit further interpretation and generalizability. Nonetheless, ravens are likely customary tool users in three modes and show the capacity for diverse tool use, which should be examined in dedicated future experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Predator avoidance can have immense impacts on fitness, yet individual variation in the expression of anti-predator behaviour remains largely unexplained. Existing research investigating learning of novel predators has focused either on individuals or groups, but not both. Testing in individual settings allows evaluations of learning or personality differences, while testing in group settings makes it impossible to distinguish any such individual differences from social dynamics. In this study, we investigate the effect of social dynamics on individual anti-predator behaviour. We trained 15 captive ravens to recognize and respond to a novel experimental predator and then exposed them to this predator in both group and isolation settings across 1.5 years to tease apart individual differences from social effects and evaluate two hypotheses: (1) weaker anti-predator responses of some individuals in the group occurred, because they failed to recognize the experimental predator as a threat, leading to weak responses when separated, or (2) some individuals had learned the new threat, but their scolding intensity was repressed in the group trials due to social dynamics (such as dominance rank), leading to increased scolding intensity when alone. Results: We found that dominance significantly influences scolding behaviour in the group trials; top-ranked individuals scold more and earlier than lower ranking ones. However, in the separation trials scolding duration is no longer affected by rank. Conclusions: We speculate that, while top-ranked individuals use their anti-predator responses to signal status in the group, lower-ranking ravens may be suppressed from, or are less capable of, performing intense anti-predator behaviour while in the group. This suggests that, in addition to its recruitment or predator-deterrent effects, alarm calling may serve as a marker of individual quality to conspecifics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egypt is characterized by many deserts associated with cities. The desert raven is considered an ancient one of the most abundant birds in the Egyptian desert and is susceptible to a wide range of ectoparasites. therefore, the present study was to identify the ectoparasites that infect brown-necked raven Corvus ruficollis in Wadi Dara, Eastern Desert, Red Sea Governorate, Egypt. During the two years from 2020 to 2022, several parasites were collected from a brown-necked raven. Sixteen live brown-necked ravens and nine nests in the Red Sea governorate were investigated. The collected ectoparasites were thirteen lice species belonging to two suborders, four dipteran species belonging to two families, ten mite species belonging to two families, also nine tick species belonging to two families. Generally, ectoparasites are considered the primary cause of many dangerous effects for many domestic and migratory bird species, the presence of the brown-necked ravens in the bird migration route in the eastern desert increases the chance of ectoparasites transmission between different species in the same area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generics (e.g., "Ravens are black") express generalizations about categories or their members. Previous research found that generics about animals are interpreted as broadly true of members of a kind, yet also accepted based on minimal evidence. This asymmetry is important for suggesting a mechanism by which unfounded generalizations may flourish; yet, little is known whether this finding extends to generics about groups of people (heretofore, "social generics"). Accordingly, in four preregistered studies (n = 665), we tested for an inferential asymmetry for generics regarding novel groups of animals versus people. Participants were randomly assigned to either an Implied Prevalence task (given a generic, asked to estimate the prevalence of a property) or a Truth‐Conditions task (given prevalence information, asked whether a generic was true or false). A generic asymmetry was found in both domains, at equivalent levels. The asymmetry also extended to properties varying in valence (dangerous and neutral). Finally, there were differences as a function of property valence in the Implied Prevalence task and a small but consistent interaction between domain and prevalence in the Truth‐Conditions task. We discuss the implications of these results for the semantics of generics, theoretical accounts of the asymmetry, and the relation between generics and stereotyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos del CILHA is the property of Universidad Nacional de Cuyo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study deals with a rarely discussed lexicological and semantic issue, Luxemburgish names of inns. I was astonished by their large number and their diversification. In the Middle Ages, many people could not read, therefore an inn was indicated by a sign, for instance that of a raven that gave it its name. The name of the inn could give its situation in the village in order to help foreigners to find their way, for instance "At the market". I examine historical relations, too, like "way of the Romans" and, on the other hand, names of animals, such as "At the raven". Last not least I have discovered funny names like "kitchen of the devil" and original names, for instance "Why not?" or "The peppercorn". I don't neither forget a very old house name, "Plutoshaff", founded in the eighteenth century by Franz Plutot, a personality of the village. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis) has an extremely large distribution range in Africa and Asia, including the Middle East. The species primary live in deserts and semi-deserts, however its urban population is also increasing. In this paper, I reported the first record of the species for Lebanon. On 8th February 2022, I have seen an individual on the seaside coast near the harbor in Tripoli, North Lebanon. After I took photos of the bird, several ornithologist confirmed my correct identification. The nearest country where it was recorded before is Palestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A native Australian corvid, Little Raven Corvus mellori, has emerged as a dominant and problematic predator of an ecologically and economically important seabird, the Little Penguin Eudyptula minor. In 2013, ravens successfully preyed upon clutches/broods of the burrow-nesting penguin, especially those in shallower, more accessible burrows. Individual raven size might mediate which ravens attack penguins; smaller ravens may be able to enter burrows more easily; alternatively, larger ravens may be more capable of overcoming penguin parental defence. Here, we consider the predator-prey interactions to assess whether associations with burrow characteristics persisted and examine whether raven size mediated propensity to prey upon penguin eggs. We compared data from the 2013 and 2015 penguin breeding seasons at Phillip Island (Victoria, Australia) for differences in clutch survival and burrow characteristics. We also examined raven morphometrics to determine if any physical differences existed between known burrow-predators (“culprits”) and other birds. During the 2013 breeding season, penguins suffered clutch losses of 61.1% compared with 33.9% in 2015. Burrow characteristics changed between seasons—most noticeably, burrows were deeper in 2015 and ravens no longer discriminated between burrow characteristics. Culprits were heavier and larger. While we could not eliminate inter-annual variability as a possible contributing factor, our results were consistent with rapid adaptation of prey and predator to intense emergent depredation. Penguins may now construct deeper burrows, and ravens evidently no longer select more vulnerable burrows. Larger ravens may be more capable of approaching and attacking penguin burrows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article reads Miroslav Válek's (1927 - 1991) poem "Večer [Evening]" published in the poet's first collection of verse Dotyky ([Touches], 1959) as a deconstructive subversion of lyric tradition - of Ivan Krasko's (1876 - 1958) symbolist model of the lyric and Edgar Allan Poe's (1809 - 1849) "The Raven" (1845). The author argues that Válek subverts the tradition by the specific way he tackles the motifs of the night, rain, and raven known in the Slovak poetry mainly from the writing of Ivan Krasko and by the way the poet updates the lyric situation of Poe's notoriously well-known poem and its central motif. Another aspect that gets subverted is the tragic-elegiac melancholic modality of the poem. The analysis notices the first line of the poem where the night setting is outlined, then moves on to the key image of rain "without melancholy" and the updated motif of the raven. Finally, it discusses the detachment of the speaker from what goes on in the poem - the speaker in the poem is different from the subject affected by emotions and moods modelled in the lines. The reading grasps Válek's poem and sophisticated subversive deconstruction of the traditional model of symbolic poem concerned with romantic love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two Kurdish poets, Hezhar and Suwara, have recomposed the narrative poem "Eagle" by Khanleri in Kurdish language. Despite maintaining the content and plot in their rewriting, there have been changes in the narration and its structure. Although the Kurdish poets have not changed the structure of the plot and the core of the story fundamentally, they have manipulated elements in the narrative which makes their narration appear different to the reader. The most important changes that have occurred in the narratives of Hezhar and Suwara compared to the narrative of Khanlari are as follows: removing a number of free themes, summarization of depending themes, adding outer atmosphere to the beginning of the story, difference in characterization, expressing the message of the story through the language of the eagle character, highlighting the inner theme, and etc. In this paper, with a narratological approach, the narratives adaptations of the two Kurdish poets from the story of "Eagle and Raven" are compared with Khanlari's poem to reveal the differences and similarities. The results show that Suwara has adhered to Khanlari's narration more than Hezhar in narrating the story. Hezhar has narrated the story in a new discourse space and for different purposes. This characteristic and also the change he made in the tone of the dialogue of the characters have made his narration more distinct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ravens have benefitted from resource subsidies provided by humans so much that their population has increased by over 800% in the western Mojave desert over the last 50 years. Our food waste is an especially large subsidy. Raven predation is one of the greatest threats to desert tortoise survival in the California desert. We sought to create and evaluate a behavioral change program among restaurants in Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms, California in the western Mojave with elevated raven populations. Half of the 60 restaurants in these two communities received an intervention encouraging them to close their dumpsters while the other half served as controls with no intervention. Treatment restaurants received two in‐person visits to discuss the manifold importance of dumpster closure and laminated information signs to display and extend communication to staff. We surveyed all dumpsters for open/closed status five times before the intervention and five times again 3 months after the intervention. We found a significant increase in closure rates among treatment restaurants due to the interventions, with an average of 9.5% increase toward maximum possible lid closure. Restaurants achieving 80%+ closure received "Gold Star Awards" to further stimulate community‐wide behavior change by publicly recognizing and encouraging desired behaviors. We summarize dumpster closure rates from similar interventions in nearby Joshua Tree and across the Coachella Valley to illustrate how local social norms may influence behavior. Research Highlights: Restaurants receiving in‐person communications and behavior‐prompting signage experienced a significant 9.5% greater increase in dumpster closure rate than those receiving no outreach.Waste truck drivers were largely responsible for dumpsters left open. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anthropogenic food sources (AFSs) are widespread in human-transformed landscapes and the current scale at which they occur drives ecological change at the individual, population, and community levels. AFSs are exploited extensively by common ravens, Corvus corax. Understanding how raven populations use AFSs can provide insight into their ecological responses to AFSs. Methods: We equipped 81 ravens in the Austrian Alps with GPS-transmitters over a period of 2.75 years. Using these tracking data, we investigated how cohort differences (i.e., age, sex, and origin) and seasonal changes influence raven movement patterns (i.e., occurrence distribution and maximum daily displacement) and AFS-use (i.e., number of AFSs visited and probability of being present at any AFS) at 45 extensively exploited sites. Results: We found that proxies for experience and dominance, inferred by age (i.e., juvenile versus adult) and origin (i.e., wild-caught versus captive-bred-released) cohorts, influenced movement patterns and the number of AFSs visited. However, all individuals were equally likely to be present at AFSs, highlighting the importance of AFSs for non-breeders in the study population. Seasonal changes in environmental conditions that affect energetic demands, the availability of natural and anthropogenic food, and foraging competition, influenced individuals' occurrence distributions and AFS-use. We found that under harsher conditions in autumn and winter, individuals ranged wider and depended on AFSs to a larger degree. However, contrary to expectation, they were less likely to be present at AFSs in these seasons compared to spring and summer, suggesting a trade-off between time spent moving and exploiting resources. We attribute the small ranging movements exhibited by non-breeders in spring and summer to the presence of highly territorial and socially dominant breeders. As breeders mostly stay and forage within their territories during these seasons, competition at AFSs decrease, thereby increasing the likelihood of individuals being present at any AFS. Conclusions: We emphasize that movement and AFS-use differ according to cohort differences and the seasonality of the environment. Our results highlight that predictable AFSs affect foraging strategies among non-breeding ravens. The extent of AFS-exploitation among non-breeding ravens in our study emphasize the potential of AFSs in shaping raven movement and resource-use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1983, Raven suggested that silica could substitute for lignin or cellulose as a structural material in plants, and should be favoured because of its lower energetic costs. He then asked the question why more plants did not use silica for structural support. Raven's idea eventually led to a whole series of investigations into the substitution of silicon for carbon in plants, so-called trade-offs. In this Opinion we offer some, hopefully helpful, thoughts on this research, and we attempt to answer Raven's question. We conclude that more focus on the distribution of silicon and carbon at the cellular level is needed, and that we should be more careful to avoid teleological thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Evaluative studies of inductive inferences have been pursued extensively with mathematical rigor in many disciplines, such as statistics, econometrics, computer science, and formal epistemology. Attempts have been made in those disciplines to justify many different kinds of inductive inferences, to varying extents. But somehow those disciplines have said almost nothing to justify a most familiar kind of induction, an example of which is this: "We've seen this many ravens and they all are black, so all ravens are black." This is enumerative induction in its full strength. For it does not settle with a weaker conclusion (such as "the ravens observed in the future will all be black"); nor does it proceed with any additional premise (such as the statistical IID assumption). The goal of this paper is to take some initial steps toward a justification for the full version of enumerative induction, against counterinduction, and against the skeptical policy. The idea is to explore various epistemic ideals, mathematically defined as different modes of convergence to the truth, and look for one that is weak enough to be achievable and strong enough to justify a norm that governs both the long run and the short run. So the proposal is learning-theoretic in essence, but a Bayesian version is developed as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Research suggests that contagious yawning evolved to synchronize activity and vigilance within groups. To date, yawning has shown to be contagious in a wide range of mammalian species, including humans, great apes, some monkey species, domesticated dogs and pigs, wolves, lions, and rats. However, yawn contagion has only been previously documented in one bird species: budgerigars (Melosittacus undulatus). Here, we sought to examine whether yawning was contagious among juvenile common ravens (Corvus corax). By observing two small and undisturbed captive groups, we also assessed the contagious nature of other frequently observed and potentially contagious behaviors: stretching, scratching, and shaking. Overall, we found no evidence for behavioral contagion. Given the limitations to the observational methods, however, we suggest future experimental research be conducted to support these findings. The overt and reflexive matching of behaviors among conspecifics has been observed in a growing number of social vertebrates, including avian species. In general, behavioral contagion—such as the spread of yawning—may serve important functions in group synchronization and vigilance behavior. Here, we performed an exploratory study to investigate yawn contagion among 10 captive juvenile ravens (Corvus corax), across two groups. Using observational methods, we also examined the contagiousness of three other distinct behaviors: stretching, scratching, and shaking. A total of 44 20 min observations were made across both groups, including 28 in the morning and 16 in the afternoon. The time and occurrence of all the behaviors from each bird were coded, and the temporal pattern of each behavior across both groups was then analyzed to assess the degree of social contagion. Overall, we found no evidence for contagious yawning, stretching, scratching, or shaking. However, yawns were relatively infrequent per observation (0.052 ± 0.076 yawns/bird) and thus experimental methods should be used to support this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classic paper by Ehrlich and Raven on coevolution will soon be 60 years old. Although they were not the first to develop the idea of coevolution, their thought‐provoking paper certainly popularized this idea and inspired several generations of scientists interested in coevolution. Here, we describe some of their main contributions, quantitatively measure the impact of their seminal paper on different fields of research, and discuss how ideas related to their original paper might push the study of coevolution forward. To guide our discussion, we explore their original hypothesis into three research fields that are associated with distinct scales/levels of organization: (1) the genetic mechanisms underlying coevolutionary interactions; (2) the potential association between coevolutionary diversification and the organization of ecological networks; and (3) the micro‐ and macroevolutionary mechanisms and expected patterns under their hypothesis. By doing so, we discuss potentially overlooked aspects and future directions for the study of coevolutionary dynamics and diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common ravens (Corvus corax) inhabited much of the eastern United States prior to European colonization but were nearly extirpated by the mid‐1900s. Although remnant raven populations have since begun recolonizing portions of their historic range in the eastern United States, the extent of recovery remains largely unknown because of the species' elusive behavior. To aid development of targeted monitoring programs for this rare and cryptic species, we investigated factors that may influence detectability of ravens in natural cliff habitat during the nesting season in the Central Appalachian Mountains. Using a time‐to‐detection framework, we performed surveys at cliff sites with positive raven occupancy and recorded time to first detection (TFD) and confirmed cliff occupancy (i.e., occupied detection) to estimate detection probability curves as a function of survey time. We further compared multiscale habitat features of occupied and unoccupied cliff sites to characterize regional nesting habitat. Mean TFD at occupied cliffs was 14 ± 2 (SE) min. The TFD and subsequent detection probability increased with warming temperatures, likely as a result of heightened activity at nests as the reproductive season progressed. Shorter distances from observation point to the surveyed cliff resulted in longer TFD, indicating that ravens are likely sensitive to disturbance at nest sites. Analysis of cliff‐nesting habitat data identified raven selection of cliffs with large, exposed faces positioned on predominant west‐facing aspects. Mean detection probability calculated from detectability curves was ≥0.8 after the first 30 min. Using a probability‐based model and empirical detection probabilities, we estimated that raven absence from a cliff site during the nesting season may be inferred with p = 0.99 after three independent 30‐min surveys. Although ravens have been considered elusive and rare in the eastern United States, we find that their detectability at occupied cliff sites during the nesting season is relatively high and that observation of distributional changes may be easier for this species than for other, more cryptic birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns rural life in northern Iceland as observed through participation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with some work undertaken subsequently. The paper considers farm life, beliefs and communal music in a monoglot (Icelandic only) society where the memories of people stretched back to the 1890s. The three main characters encountered are Lárus, his wife Pétúrina (Figure 1) and their daughter Didda. Thus it documents and reviews what was essentially women's work, and especially home-made clothing; traditional diet, its preparation and preservation; and the daily and social contexts in which it was eaten. This forms the first part of a series. Future papers will address the background and social relationships over the time in question, covering also men's work and travel. It will also include folk traditions and verses sung at times of social gathering for work or entertainment, and their tunes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]