Tweeters,

My informant Mary Wells writes:

Darrel, I'm not making all this up. The signs at Yellowstone have a
picture of a coyote and a raven and the large print says "THIEVES?" and
then the small print goes on to encourage hikers/etc to secure their
backpacks and saddlebags because these two animals get into them. Also,
the guide we had on Sat said that ravens have the largest "vocabulary"
of all of the birds and that they rival humans in their intonation and
variety of sounds. He said he's listened to them for 7 years and they
have mimic capabilities and that he particularly likes their sound
during mating season. Mary PS. maybe try the Yellowstone Park website
for additional info?

Thanks, Mary. It's fascinating. And thank you Mary Westervelt and Ed
Schulz and Laurel Cheap for responding to this thread.

Darrel Whipple
Rainier, OR
dwhipple at columbia-center