Editing Common raven (section)

== Relationship with humans ==

=== Conservation and management ===
[[File:Image-Pied Raven Hvidbroget ravn.jpg|thumb|right|Specimen of the extinct [[pied raven]], a [[colour morph]] from the [[Faroe Islands]]]]
Compared to many smaller ''[[Corvus]]'' species (such as [[carrion crow]] and [[American crow]]), ravens prefer undisturbed mountain or forest habitat or rural areas over urban areas.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wb/v33n03/p0202-p0217.pdf |title=Abundance and distribution of the common raven and American Crow in the San Francisco Bay area, California |author=Kelly, J. P. |author2=Etienne, K. L. |author3=Roth, J. E. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |journal=Western Birds |volume=33 |pages=202–217}}</ref> In other areas, their numbers have increased dramatically and they have become agricultural [[Pest (organism)|pests]]. Common ravens can cause damage to crops, such as nuts and grain, or can harm livestock, particularly by killing young goat kids, lambs and calves.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Larsen |first=Kenneth H. |author2=Dietrich, John H.  |date=January 1970 |title=Reduction of a raven population on lambing grounds with DRC-1339 |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=200–204 |doi=10.2307/3799509 |jstor=3799509}}</ref> Ravens generally attack the faces of young livestock, but the more common raven behaviour of scavenging may be misidentified as predation by ranchers.<ref name="nass">{{Cite book| date =May 6, 2005 | title =Sheep and Goats Death Loss | publisher =[[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] | url =http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1628 | access-date = 2007-12-27}}</ref>

In the western [[Mojave Desert]], human settlement and land development have led to an estimated 16-fold increase in the common raven population over 25 years. Towns, landfills, sewage treatment plants and artificial ponds create sources of food and water for scavenging birds. Ravens also find nesting sites in utility poles and ornamental trees, and are attracted to roadkill on highways. The explosion in the common raven population in the Mojave has raised concerns for the [[desert tortoise]], a [[threatened species]]. Common ravens prey upon juvenile tortoises, which have soft shells and move slowly.<ref name=mojave>{{cite web|url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=160|title=Scientists Estimate Risk of Raven Predation on Desert Tortoises in the Western Mojave Desert|access-date=2007-05-11|author=U.S. Geological Survey}}</ref> Plans to control the population have included shooting and trapping birds, as well as contacting landfill operators to ask that they reduce the amount of exposed garbage.<ref>{{cite conference | first = WI | last = Boarman | title = The Raven Management Program of the Bureau of Land Management : Status as of 1992 | pages = 113–117 | work = Proceedings of 1992 Symposium | year = 1993 | location = California | url = http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sandiego/pdfs/Boarman_1993_DTCS_RavenManagementProgram.pdf | access-date = 2007-05-21 | archive-date = 2020-10-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201006163812/https://www.usgs.gov/centers/werc// | url-status = dead }}</ref> A hunting bounty as a method of control was historically used in Finland from the mid-18th century until 1923.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Pohja-Mykrä M|author2= Vuorisalo T|author3= Mykrä S | title = Hunting bounties as a key measure of historical wildlife management and game conservation: Finnish bounty schemes 1647–1975 | journal = Oryx | volume = 39 | issue = 3 | pages = 284–291 | year = 2005 | doi = 10.1017/S0030605305000785| doi-access = free }}</ref> Culling has taken place to a limited extent in [[Alaska]], where the population increase in common ravens is threatening the vulnerable [[Steller's eider]] (''Polysticta stelleri'').<ref name="MMS2007">{{cite web|title=Foraging Ecology of Common Ravens (''Corvus corax'') on Alaska's Coastal Plain (AK-93-48-51) |author=Minerals Management Service, Alaska |year=2007 |url=http://www.mms.gov/alaska/ess/ongoing_studies/biology/Gleason%20-%207B.pdf |access-date=2007-05-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628042829/http://www.mms.gov/alaska/ess/ongoing_studies/biology/Gleason%20-%207B.pdf |archive-date=June 28, 2007 }}</ref>

Ravens, like other corvids, are definitive hosts of West Nile Virus (WNV).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lavelle|first1=Michael J.|last2=Kay|first2=Shannon L.|last3=Pepin|first3=Kim M.|last4=Grear|first4=Daniel A.|last5=Campa|first5=Henry|last6=VerCauteren|first6=Kurt C.|date=2016-12-01|title=Evaluating wildlife-cattle contact rates to improve the understanding of dynamics of bovine tuberculosis transmission in Michigan, USA|journal=Preventive Veterinary Medicine|language=en|volume=135|pages=28–36|doi=10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.10.009|pmid=27931926|issn=0167-5877|doi-access=free}}</ref> The transmission can be from infected birds to humans via ''[[Culex]]'' mosquito vectors, and ravens are susceptible to WNV. However, in a 2010 study, it was shown that the California Common Ravens did not have a high positivity rate of WNV.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wheeler|first1=Sarah S.|last2=Barker|first2=Christopher M.|last3=Fang|first3=Ying|last4=Armijos|first4=M. Veronica|last5=Carroll|first5=Brian D.|last6=Husted|first6=Stan|last7=Johnson|first7=Wesley O.|last8=Reisen|first8=William K.|title=Differential Impact of West Nile Virus on California Birds|date=2009|journal=The Condor|volume=111|issue=1|pages=1–20|doi=10.1525/cond.2009.080013|issn=0010-5422|pmc=2892874|pmid=20589226}}</ref>

=== Cultural depictions ===
[[File:Bill Reid raven.jpg|thumb|[[Bill Reid]]'s sculpture ''[[The Raven and the First Men]]'', showing part of a [[Haida mythology|Haida]] creation myth. Museum of Anthropology, [[University of British Columbia]].]]
{{See also|Cultural depictions of ravens}}

Across its range in the Northern Hemisphere, and throughout human history, the common raven has been a powerful symbol and a popular subject of mythology and folklore.

In some [[Western culture|Western tradition]]s, ravens have long been considered to be birds of ill omen, death and evil in general, in part because of the negative symbolism of their all-[[Black#Beliefs, religions and superstitions|black]] plumage and the eating of [[carrion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=birds.raven |title=Raven: The Northern Bird of Paradox |access-date=2007-02-12 |last=Schwan |first=Mark |date=January 1990 |publisher=Alaska Fish and Game |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102055945/http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=birds.raven |archive-date=January 2, 2010 }}</ref> In Sweden, ravens are known as the ghosts of murdered people, and in Germany as the souls of the damned. In [[Danish folklore]], [[valravn]]e that ate a king's heart gained human knowledge, could perform great malicious acts, could lead people astray, had superhuman powers, and were "terrible animals".<ref name=KRISTENSEN132>Kristensen, Evald Tang. (1980) ''Danske Sagn: Som De Har Lyd I Folkemunde'', Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck, Copenhagen. {{ISBN|87-17-02791-8}}. p. 132.</ref>

It continues to be used as a symbol in areas where it once had mythological status: as the [[List of national birds|national bird]] of [[Bhutan]]<ref name = "ravenbhutan"/> ([[Druk Gyalpo|kings of Bhutan]] wear the [[Raven Crown]]), official bird of the [[Yukon]] territory,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.yk.ca/aboutyukon/emblemsandsymbols.html |title=Yukon Territorial Bird |publisher=Government of Yukon |access-date=2007-05-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212123740/http://www.gov.yk.ca/aboutyukon/emblemsandsymbols.html |archive-date=February 12, 2012 }}</ref> and on the coat of arms of the [[Isle of Man]] (once a Viking colony).<ref>{{cite web | title = Island Facts – Isle of Man Government | author = Isle of Man Government | url = http://www.gov.im/isleofman/facts.xml | access-date = 2007-05-19 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070510212828/http://www.gov.im/isleofman/facts.xml | archive-date = 2007-05-10 }}</ref>

In Persia and Arabia, the raven was held as a bird of bad omen but a 14th-century Arabic work reports use of the raven in falconry.<ref>{{cite journal| title=Note on the common raven-''Corvus corax''| author=Phillott, D.C. |pages=115–116| journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal| year=1907| volume=3|url=https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753002183785#page/114/mode/2up}}</ref>

The modern [[unisex given name]] ''[[Raven (given name)|Raven]]'' is derived from the English word "raven". As a masculine name, ''Raven'' parallels the Old Norse ''[[Hrafn]]'',<ref name="Hanks-226">{{Cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |last2=Hardcastle |author-link1=Patrick Hanks |first2=Kate |last3=Hodges |first3=Flavia |title=A Dictionary of First Names |edition=2nd |series=Oxford Paperback Reference |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-861060-1 |page=226}}</ref> and Old English ''*Hræfn'', which were both [[byname]]s and [[personal name]]s.<ref name="Reaney">{{Cite book |last=Reaney |first=Percy Hilde |author2=Wilson, Richard Middlewood |title=A Dictionary of English Surnames |edition=3rd |year=2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-203-99355-2 |page=2594}}</ref>
[[File:Valkyrie and Raven (NGV).png|thumb|upright|A [[valkyrie]] speaks with a raven in a 19th-century illustration of the [[Old Norse]] poem ''[[Hrafnsmál]]'' ("raven song") by [[Frederick Sandys]]]]

==== Mythology ====
{{Main article|Raven in mythology}}
In the [[History of the Tlingit#Creation story and the Raven Cycle|Tlingit]] and [[Haida mythology|Haida]] cultures, Raven was both a [[trickster]] and [[creator god]]. Related beliefs are widespread among the peoples of [[Siberia]] and northeastern Asia.<ref>{{cite journal |first=W. |last=Bogoras |year=1902 |title=The Folklore of Northeastern Asia, as Compared with That of Northwestern America |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=577–683 |doi=10.1525/aa.1902.4.4.02a00020 |doi-access= }}</ref> The [[Kamchatka Peninsula]], for example, was supposed to have been created by the raven god [[Kutkh]].<ref>Worth, D.D. (1961). ''Kamchadal Texts Collected by W. Jochelson'', 's-Gravenhage, Mouton.</ref> There are several references to common ravens in the [[Old Testament]] of the [[Bible]] and it is an aspect of [[Mahakala]] in [[Bhutan]]ese mythology.<ref name = "ravenbhutan">{{cite web | title = The Himalaya Kingdom | author = Bhutan Tourism Corporation | url = http://www.kingdomofbhutan.com/kingdom/kingdom_2_.html | access-date = 2007-05-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070429002322/http://www.kingdomofbhutan.com/kingdom/kingdom_2_.html | archive-date = 2007-04-29 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In [[Norse mythology]], [[Huginn and Muninn|Huginn]] (from the Old Norse for "thought") and [[Huginn and Muninn|Muninn]] (from the Old Norse for "memory" or "mind") are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world of humans, [[Midgard]], and bring the god [[Odin]] information. Additionally, among the Norse, [[raven banner]] standards were carried by such figures as the [[Earl of Orkney|Jarls of Orkney]],<ref>{{cite book |author1=Pálsson, Hermann  |author2=Edwards, Paul | title = Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney | publisher = Hogarth Press | year = 1978 | location = London | isbn= 978-0-7012-0431-0}}</ref> King [[Cnut the Great]] of England, Norway, and Denmark,<ref>{{cite book | author = Campbell, Alistair |author2=Keynes, Simon | title = Encomium Emmae Reginae | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1998 | location = Cambridge | isbn= 978-0-521-62655-2 }}</ref> and [[Harald Hardrada]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Sturluson|first= Snorri | title = King Harald's Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway: From Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla | publisher = Penguin | year = 2005 | isbn=978-0-14-044183-3}}</ref>

In the British Isles, ravens also were symbolic to the [[Celts]]. In [[Irish mythology]], the goddess [[Morrígan]] alighted on the hero [[Cú Chulainn]]'s shoulder in the form of a raven after his death.<ref>{{cite web | author = Jones, M | title = The Death of Cu Chulainn | publisher = Academy for Ancient Texts | url = http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/cuchulain3.html | access-date = 2007-05-19}}</ref> In [[Welsh mythology]] they were associated with the Welsh god [[Brân the Blessed]], whose name translates to "raven" and "crow". According to the ''[[Mabinogion]]'', Brân's head was buried in the White Hill of London as a [[talisman]] against invasion.<ref>{{cite book | last = Ford | first = Patrick K. | title = The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales | chapter = Branwen daughter of Llŷr | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1977 | location = Berkeley | isbn = 978-0-520-03414-3 | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/mabinogiothermed00fordrich | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/mabinogiothermed00fordrich }}</ref>

A legend developed that England would not fall to a foreign invader as long as there were [[Ravens of the Tower of London|ravens at the Tower of London]]; although this is often thought to be an ancient belief, the official Tower of London historian, Geoff Parnell, believes that this is actually a romantic Victorian invention.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tower's raven mythology may be a Victorian flight of fantasy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/nov/15/britishidentity.artsandhumanities |work=The Guardian |date=15 November 2004 |access-date=5 December 2008 | location=London | first=Maev | last=Kennedy}}</ref>

In the [[Judaism|Jewish]], [[Christianity|Christian]] and [[Islamic]] traditions, the raven was the first animal to be released from [[Noah's Ark]]. "So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Genesis 8:6-8 - New King James Version|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%208:6-8&version=NKJV|access-date=2023-07-02|website=Bible Gateway|language=en}}</ref> The raven is mentioned 12 times in the Bible. In the [[New Testament]] [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]] tells a parable using the raven to show how people should rely on God for their needs and not riches ([[s:Bible (American Standard)/Luke#12:24|Luke 12:24]]).<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|title=Luke 12:24 - New Living Translation|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+12:24&version=NLT|access-date=2023-07-02|website=Bible Gateway|language=en}}</ref> The raven is also mentioned in the [[Quran]] at the story of [[Cain and Abel]]. [[Adam]]'s firstborn son Cain kills his brother Abel, but he does not know what to do with the corpse: "Then Allah sent a raven scratching up the ground, to show him how to hide his brother's naked corpse. He said: Woe unto me! Am I not able to be as this raven and so hide my brother's naked corpse? And he became repentant."<ref>(بَعَثَ اللّهُ غُرَابًا يَبْحَثُ فِي الأَرْضِ لِيُرِيَهُ كَيْفَ يُوَارِي سَوْءةَ أَخِيهِ قَالَ يَا وَيْلَتَا أَعَجَزْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِثْلَ هَذَا الْغُرَابِ فَأُوَارِيَ سَوْءةَ أَخِي فَأَصْبَحَ مِنَ النَّادِمِينَ) Qur'an 5:31, translation: Pickthall, Marmaduke ''The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: An Explanatory Translation'', Amana Publications, 1st edition (1996) {{ISBN|978-0915957224}}</ref>