The Tower of London

[Muhler]

Could it be Corvid?

[Curryong]

I'd say it's more likely to be old age than anything like Covid. She perhaps flew a longer distance than usual and couldn't make it back, and her body has gone unnoticed with so relatively few people about, though all the Tower ravens wear leg tags.

One of the ravens was brought back to the Tower from Greenwich some years ago, spotted by an observant member of the public.

And one of them at least could mimic the human voice, and said 'Good Morning' to Vladimir Putin and his entourage when he visited the Tower in 2004, to the astonishment of the Russians.

[Muhler]

Okay, it wasn't a very good pun by me.

The bird has probably been eaten or died of old age.

Originally Posted by QueenMathilde

I wonder how long ravens live? I read that they have the IQ of a seven year old and can recognize human faces.

Corvids are very intelligent!
The brightest being crows and magpies. I guess ravens are high up there as well.
They do recognize faces. I can testify to that personally. The local magpies sure know who I am, I'm the biped who feed them cheese. (Birds are crazy about cheese, I can recommend it. Especially cheese used for pizza-toppings. Easy to eat and carry away for the small birds.) So it often happens they fly in and sit a few meters away: Got any cheese?
They couldn't care less about my wife and daughter.
Magpies also know what a gun is, or anything resembling a gun, like a stick. They go into hiding on the spot, otherwise you see them all over the place not being the least bit concerned about humans.
I have also seen magpies cooperate and outwit cats, dogs and gulls.
Crows have a tendency to go for the tail of a cat, driving it way that way. In return I've seen a cat try to lure a crow closer, using its tail as bait. The crow didn't fall for it.

I don't think wild Corvids are as intelligent as a seven year old, but they can certainly match a three year old, and the brightest appears to match the intelligence of a four or five year old.

Even more impressive, they tell their buddies about humans who are untrustworthy or trustworthy!
If you go for a walk then you can easily tell if the magpies really don't like you. Their warning calls will follow you. But you won't see them.

But the death-rate for magpie hatchlings is very high! They are very noisy and clingy to their parents once they have learned to fly, attracting attention.

They are fascinating to watch.

[Curryong]

Not Australian magpies, Muhler. They don't get out of the way of anyone, whether you're carrying a stick or not! And watch out in the nesting season! Especially if you happen to be on a bike! As below!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl_RJbI3wHY

Actually, I think Charles Dickens had a family pet Raven called Grip, who was extremely intelligent and who fascinated him. There was a Tower Raven called Grip as well, after the Barnaby Rudge bird.

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/...dickenss-raven

[QueenMathilde]

This is a crow not a raven but I thought it was interesting - it brings this 8 year old girl gifts.


https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31604026

[An Ard Ri]

In May 1536 it was reported at the Execution of Anne Boleyn

"Even the ravens of the Tower sat silent and immovable on the battlements and gazed eerily at the strange scene. A Queen about to die!"

[CyrilVladisla]

At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, 1.5 tons of gold, gilt and silver from the treasures of Buckfast Abbey were delivered to the Tower of London.
What was done with the gold, gilt and silver?

[Curryong]

The Mint was situated in the Tower of London until 1810 so probably most of the gold and silver was used to increase the coinage. The King or some high officials may have utilised the gilt on objects like goblets and bowls for their own use.