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Unlikely Mates
Unlikely Mates

Bald Eagles generally don't like to share their close personal space but this one seemed to enjoy/tolerate the company of a Common Raven for some time today down on the river ice. The raven was clearly in play mode, chortling, babbling happily to himself as only ravens can, and playing with chunks of ice. Most unusual.

Addendum: Is the raven in danger here? For the most part, I think not. It has a larger brain, better reasoning/problem solving ability, is faster, more agile and more coordinated. Unless this raven is a little gaga, I suspect that it knows its limits and is quite safe. I might also add that upon closer examination of this image, the raven seems to be displaying his translucent "nictitating" eye membrane, typically used for eye protection in many species, and in this case, a raven power display. Ravens are great mimics of other birds' vocalizations. Perhaps this pose is another dimension of that mimicry or perhaps just coincidence?

Attribution Noncommercial Some rights reserved
Taken on: March 18, 2010
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with Yukon River Yukon River Everybody's photos tagged with winter winter Everybody's photos tagged with Bald Eagle Bald Eagle more » Everybody's photos tagged with Common Raven Common Raven Everybody's photos tagged with Haliaeetus leucocephalus Haliaeetus leucocephalus Everybody's photos tagged with Corvus corax Corvus corax Everybody's photos tagged with SpecAnimal SpecAnimal Everybody's photos tagged with SLB-nictitating membrane display SLB-nictitating membrane display Everybody's photos tagged with SLB-CrossSpeciesInteraction SLB-CrossSpeciesInteraction Everybody's photos tagged with The wonderful world of birds The wonderful world of birds « less
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Camera: Nikon D60, f/6.3, 1/200 sec, 500mm (=750mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D60
Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure Time: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length: 500mm (35mm equivalent: 750mm)
ISO: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Metering Mode: Spot
White Balance: Auto
Sharpness: Hard
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Picasa 3.0
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Unlikely Mates

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