CrowThough not generally perceived as graceful, crows are remarkably so—a single curve undulates from the tip of the bird’s beak to the end of its tail. They take flight almost without effort, flapping their wings easily and ascending into the air like spirits. Crow by Boria Sax is a celebration of the crow and its relatives in myth, literature, and life. Sax takes readers into the history of crows, detailing how in a range of cultures, from the Chinese to the Hopi Indians, crows are bearers of prophecy. For example, thanks in part to the birds’ courtship rituals, Greeks invoked crows as symbols of conjugal love. From the raven sent out by Noah to the corvid deities of the Eskimo, from Taoist legends to Victorian novels and contemporary films, Sax’s book ranges across history and culture and will interest anyone who has ever been intrigued, puzzled, annoyed, or charmed by these wonderfully intelligent birds. |
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Page 19
... Popular thinking, however, is not always so modest or cautious. Intelligence is often enough used not only as a measure of certain abilities but of the entire worth of a person or animal. We traditionally think of intelligence as the ...
... Popular thinking, however, is not always so modest or cautious. Intelligence is often enough used not only as a measure of certain abilities but of the entire worth of a person or animal. We traditionally think of intelligence as the ...
Page 31
... not necessarily scholarship, marks the many biblical references to such birds as ravens, with their austere and terrifying beauty. That is how the In this illustration from a 19th- century popular scientific book, 1: Mesopotamia.
... not necessarily scholarship, marks the many biblical references to such birds as ravens, with their austere and terrifying beauty. That is how the In this illustration from a 19th- century popular scientific book, 1: Mesopotamia.
Page 32
Boria Sax. In this illustration from a 19th- century popular scientific book, the raven is given an anthropomorphic scowl, suggesting his fierceness. In the background a raven looks on without pity while waiting for a ram to die ...
Boria Sax. In this illustration from a 19th- century popular scientific book, the raven is given an anthropomorphic scowl, suggesting his fierceness. In the background a raven looks on without pity while waiting for a ram to die ...
Page 43
... popular fable first told by the Roman Phaedrus, a jackdaw picked up some feathers of a peacock to adorn himself. He then, scorning his own kind, tried to join a flock of peacocks. The raven, originally white, is turned black by Apollo ...
... popular fable first told by the Roman Phaedrus, a jackdaw picked up some feathers of a peacock to adorn himself. He then, scorning his own kind, tried to join a flock of peacocks. The raven, originally white, is turned black by Apollo ...
Page 50
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Contents
31 | |
38 | |
The European Middle Ages and Renaissance | 55 |
Asia | 80 |
Native American Culture | 90 |
The Romantic Era | 102 |
Lord of the Crows | 128 |
The Twentieth Century and Beyond | 144 |
References | 164 |
Bibliography | 168 |
Websites | 175 |
Associations | 177 |
Acknowledgements | 178 |
Photo Acknowledgements | 179 |
Index | 180 |
Timeline | 162 |
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Common terms and phrases
Ages and Renaissance American crow animals Apollo appear archaic associated Athena Badbh battle beak became behaviour birds body carrion crow Celtic Celts colour common raven corone corvids creatures crow Corvus crow or raven crows and ravens culture dead death deity divination Emperor Ernest Thompson Seton especially Europe fable farmers feathers fields flew genus Corvus Ghost Dance goddess Gogh Greek Grimm brothers heaven hero hooded crow Horapollo human illustration Indians Inuit Irish jackdaw Jacob de Voragine killed king legend literature live Lorenz magpie medieval Middle Ages myths Native Americans nests nineteenth century Noah numbers O'Casey Odin painted pecking perched perhaps poem popular probably prophet raven or crow Roman rooks scarecrow scaring scientists Sean O'Casey Seton shows Silverspot sometimes story symbol tale tell told traditions tree twentieth century wings wolves word wrote young