The Plumicorn Puzzle

March 5, 2025March 5, 2025 / The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 2 Comments

“So, what are plumicorns?”

This may seem the very last question you need answering in these tumultuous times.

And yet, being curious and engaged with nature is more vital than ever, so let’s distract ourselves awhile with the wonder of ravens and their fabulous and theatrical head feathers.

What are plumicorns?

You know when you see what looks like feather horns on a raven’s head? They go up and then they go down, then up again.

Those are raven plumicorns.

The word plumicorn comes from the Latin words pluma (feather) and cornu (horn) so they are, literally, feather horns.

Some varieties of owl (Great Horned, Long-Eared and Short-Eared) are most readily associated with plumicorns.

Long-eared owl

But owls are not the only plumicorn-endowed birds out there.

Horned Larks, Tufted Penguins and Rockhopper Penguins are part of the club, along with our friends, the ravens.

Raven plumicorns are smaller, more subtle and not always on display. They are dynamically expressive, erect one moment, and flattened down the next, as the mood or social occasion demands.

Are Plumicorns Ears?

Although these head feather displays (especially on owls) do look a lot like waggling ears — they’re not.

Birds’ ears are actually something entirely different — funnel-shaped openings located further down the head, behind the eyes. We rarely see them as they’re usually covered with feathers.

In the photo below this crow has considerately moved their ear-covering feathers aside for a moment while having a good old scratch so we can have a quick look at their lug.

The diagram below shows the location of the ear and feather covering on a raven.

Do Crows Have Plumicorns Too?

While crows do fluff up their head feathers to look more dominant when they feel threatened, they don’t have the ability to articulate those head feathers into separate horn-like appendages.

Young crow with head feathers up to look bigger and tougher for his/her peers

Ravens also do the fluffy-head display. This, I’ve read, is an indication of submission to more dominant ravens. So, in crows it means “Back off. I’m unbelievably large and in charge,” while in ravens, it means “Who me? Nope, I’m just over hear minding my own business, sir.”

Photograph of a raven with fluffy head feathers up.

Raven with the fuzzy head display. No horns here, just deferring to my seniors.

How Do Ravens Use Plumicorns?

Plumicorns in general seem to be a bit of a scientific mystery. It’s thought that, in owls, they can serve as camouflage, making them blend in with the branches and twigs in a tree. They’re also handy for making the bird look bigger and more formidable when they feel under threat or are involved in a territorial dispute.

Looking dominant seems to be just one way in which ravens use their horn-feathers.

See the way the dominant raven in this interaction flaunts his plumicorns for emphasis as he swaggers up to his competitors.

In my years of watching ravens, I’ve seen those feather horns go up and down in all kinds of raven interactions and I’ve never found much literature on the meaning of it all. I do know that they’re not used only as a way to look dominant.

In the next video, these two ravens had just finished mating (right before our amazed eyes) and went on to have an affectionate interaction, including grooming and head feather waggling. The male is the bird on the right.

And here is some more head feather action during a more low-key raven domestic chit chat. Raven couples are affectionate to each other all year round, not just during mating season.

And here’s a raven calling in a snowfall with head feathers rising as the song continues. Did he see his mate in the distance? Or a rival? Is it a commentary on the weather? Part of the performance? Did they just think of something funny?

Yet more things we don’t really know about ravens.

It seems that the plumicorn puzzle is yet another mystery within the larger Ravenspeak riddle; another part of the complex raven vocabulary used to express everything from aggression to affection, ferocity to flirtation and, possibly, other raven moods beyond our human experience.

It now seems that the Duo-lingo Raven module, once available, will need to include translations for all those the raven plumicorn vocabulary-enhancers — perhaps the corvid equivalents of frowning, winking, smiling, smirking, cheeks being puffed out and eyes rolled.

Close-up photograph of a raven with feather horns (plumicorns) held up.

Say what?

Ravens and Crows in the City

October 5, 2024 / The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 6 Comments

If only I could bring some real crows and ravens along to one of my Raven/Crow presentations; they speak more eloquently for themselves than I could ever do.

This morning they magically appeared to demonstrate many of the things I cover in my talks, in the calendar and here, on my blog.

The crows and I heard the raven at about the same time …

Following the crows, I headed west until I found the source.

For a while, there were only a few crows, mostly keeping a polite distance from the raven while she groomed her feathers in peace.

Gradually, more crows arrived and began to get a little more rowdy.

One crow in particular got up the courage to launch a sneak attack. I love how you can see them pecking the branch aggressively as they advance, building up their nerve for the mission.

The raven, however, was having none of that guff.

The crows got a little more rowdy.

A little dive-bombing ensued.

Still, the raven continued preening and looked quite relaxed.

I feel I should give a shoutout to my companion, Geordie, who had already been waiting patiently beside for me about half an hour at this point.

He accepts that crows are going to mean a slight delay and is always resigned to the fact that ravens are really going to throw a spanner in the walk works.

Philosophically, he lay down to pass the time in comfort.

Good boy!

Things looked to be taking a turn for our raven visitor when I heard a BIG gang of crows coming in from further away.

The raven made one call.

And there, seemingly from nowhere, her* mate arrived.

Note how the crows quickly gave up on the attack.

Two ravens; now that was something to reconsider.

The crows became much quieter and the ravens were clearly happy to be together again.

A few crows swooped half-heartedly by, but our raven couple were oblivious—immersed in affectionate allo-preening and beak play.

The original raven moved away from their mate, ever so politely, to take a poop.

This was their prelude to leaving, flying casually off somewhere to the north.

The crow crowd cawed in corvid victory.

They had ousted the enemy!

Although it seemed more like the barking dog and postie situation, where the house dog feels that their heroic efforts are 100% responsible for the delivery person’s daily retreat.

In less than an hour the obliging crows and ravens illustrated so many points from my talks:

the relative size of crows and ravens
the different calls of crows and ravens
the group action plan of crows
the pair bond between birds
how ravens communicate with their mates over long distances
the affectionate behaviour between raven couples (crows couples also allo-preen, but don’t engage in beak play)

I may have to update a couple of the slides in my presentation with some of these new videos!

* I guessed that the first raven was the female in this couple because of her preening and beak play behaviour. She’s also a lot smaller, which can be a clue — but not always.

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Raven Watching at the Tower 2024

July 10, 2024July 10, 2024 / The Urban Nature Enthusiast / 5 Comments

The Tower of London is a familiar place to me.

Not, I’m happy to say, because I’ve languished in one of the many dungeons, but from annual holidays to London to visit my grandparents when I was a kid. A trip to the Tower was always on the agenda, leading to a well-worn family joke that we had to call the Bloody Tower the Woody Tower to avoid swearing. The joke was all the funnier having been made by my dad, an inveterate curser.

As you can see from the photo below, I can get overwhelmed by too much sightseeing.

I’m still the same today; I love touring galleries, museums and ancient buildings — to a point. Once that point is reached I need to spend time outside, looking at birds, sky and green things, or I get whiney. Just ask Phillip.

That’s how I came to meet the York Ghost Merchant, but that’s another story for another blog post …

A morning at the Tower is perfect for me because I don’t need to go into any of the buildings, having toured them all before; I just spend a few hours on my own wandering the grounds and catching up with Tower ravens I’ve met before and getting to know some of the newcomers.

According to the Tower of London website, there are currently seven ravens living at the Tower — Jubilee, Harris, Poppy, Georgie, Edgar, Branwen and Rex.

On the day I was at the Tower, it seemed to be Poppy, Georgie and and Jubilee’s turn for tourist entertaining duties. I did glimpse a couple of the others, but they were mostly having a quiet day out of the limelight while the three I mentioned were holding court between the White Tower and the Jewel House.

This is the beautiful Poppy, who wears a red leg band.

The first time I met her, back in 2019, she had a bit of a shoe fetish, pecking at the footwear of numerous startled tourists. Five years later, she still seems to like interacting with the human visitors, but with less of a foot focus.

Poppy preening

Above: Poppy pacing and flapping on the Tower parapets. I’m not sure if she was considering flying off to see the wider world, but you can see that her wings are clipped, discouraging longer journeys.

Photograph of Poppy, a Tower of London raven, standing on a bench and looking at the photographer

Her Poppyship

Next, I met Jubilee who’s been at the Tower since 2012. I didn’t “meet” him on my 2019 visit so I really enjoyed spending time watching him this year. He wears a blue leg band.

You can see the Jewel House is reflected in his eye and, while it IS the stated role of the ravens to protect all things royal, I can’t help wondering if his mischievous mind occasionally turns to the logistics of a heist. Some of those sparkly things would look mighty fine in a raven’s nest …

When not considering raven larceny, Jubilee likes to show off his contortionist’s skills.

Above: Jubilee takes a few quiet raven moments

Close up photograph of Tower of London raven Jubilee preening his feathers

Making sure his feathers look their best

Photograph of Tower of London raven, Jubilee, sitting on the back of a bench next to a tourist

Like most of the Tower ravens, Jubilee seems to consider the human visitors just part of the furniture

Jubilee makes an announcement

Jubilee is rarely alone, having bonded with a younger Tower raven, Georgie. She was born at the Tower in 2019 and I heard one of the tour guides mention that she and Jubilee are inseparable.

Indeed, for most of the time I was at the Tower the two of them were not only close together, but also conducting intimate musical conversations. They made their clacking duets frequently while I was there, ignoring the river of human conversation going on all around them.

Photograph of Tower of London ravens, Jubilee and Georgie on a wall with Tower Guard hut

Georgie wears a pink leg band

Photograph of Tower of London ravens, Jubilee and Georgie on a wall with tourists photographing them in the background

She does a little posing for the tourists on her own

Another Jubilee and Georgie duet, this one conducted with the accompaniment of an occasional whistle from a tourist eager for them to turn his way for a photo.

Damn paparazzi!

By now, I’d overheard the tour guides relating the harrowing details of Ann Boleyn’s beheading one too many times, and thought the ravens could probably do with one less photographer vying for their attention, so it was time to say farewell.

I didn’t meet the new Raven Master as he was a bit busy …

I did meet the old Raven Master, Chris Skaife, on my last visit and I’d hoped to chat with him again this time but, unfortunately, it was his day off. Better planning needed for my next trip!

I left Jubilee and Georgie still posing for the tourists … and still in front of the Jewel House.

Keep an eye out for Great Raven Jewel Heist headlines in the near future …

Photograph of Tower of London ravens, Jubilee and Georgie on a wall with Yeoman Warders in the background

OK, you distract the Yeoman warders and I’ll just swoop in …

I have made a small collection of prints from some of the photographs taken at the Tower of London earlier this year. Let me know if there are others you’d like to see as prints!