With their black feathers standing in sharp contrast to the misty Alaskan background, this group of ravens perched on a leafless tree conjures up a fitting image for this spooky time of year. In the folkloric traditions of many cultures around the world, these highly adaptable, intelligent birds have been considered symbols of all manner of unpleasantness. In Chinese mythology, they"re blamed for bad weather, while Celts associated them with warfare. In some Native American traditions ravens are often represented as mischievous tricksters, while many European cultures associate them with evil spirits, usually of demonic origin. In English, a gathering of ravens like this is even called an "unkindness"!
Ravens
Today in History
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Galeries Lafayette, Paris
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Okavango Delta, Botswana
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A leafy seadragon in the waters off Wool Bay, Australia
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Groundhog Day arrives—beyond a shadow of a doubt
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Meandering through Patagonia
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Put your helmet on, we’re going for a hike
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Arrr! Can you talk like a pirate?
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Ready. Set. Snow.
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The tallest animal in the world on the longest day of the year
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A temple, preserved
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Frankenstein Friday
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Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the institution s 175th anniversary
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The (Inca) empire strikes back
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Room at the top?
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Grizzly bears in Alaska for National Wildlife Day
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A visionary artist paints his own garden view
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A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
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The Cathedral of Florence, Italy
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Happy New Year!
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Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
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La Rocque Harbour, Island of Jersey
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Aprils full moon
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Ancient storage in the Grand Canyon
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Silvereyes in South Korea
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GOAL!
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Happy 800th, Salisbury Cathedral
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Nursing the world to health
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Birds of a feather flocking together
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Our Lady of the Rocks
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The borrowed days are here