Raven
the genus Corvus, and especially C. corax, one of the largest of the Passerines. It is about 26 inches long, plumage black, glossed with steel-blue and purple; very widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. The raven has played an important part in mythology and folk-lore. It is the first bird mentioned by name in the Old Testament (Gen. viii: 7); by the ministry of ravens Elijah was fed (I Kings xvii: 6), and they were to be the ministers of vengeance on unruly children (Prov. xxx: 17). The raven was the bird of Odin, and in classic mythology was of illomen, a character often attributed to it by the early English dramatists. Marlowe calls it the "sad presageful raven," and Shakespeare repeatedly refers to the belief that its appearance foreboded misfortune. This belief, which is widespread, probably arose from the preternaturally grave manner of the bird, its sable plumage, and the readiness with which it learns to imitate human speech.