Raven

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A raven in Oldtown. © Fantasy Flight Games

Ravens are a species of large, black-feathered birds native to Westeros. Ravens are included in the sigils of Houses Blackwood, Corbray, Doggett, and Hoare.

About

See also Images of Ravens

Westerosi ravens are similar to common ravens of Earth, only stronger with better homing instincts. Ravens are used to carry messages between castles and other settlements. While doves and pigeons can also be trained to carry messages, ravens are stronger flyers, larger, bolder, far more clever, and better able to defend themselves against hawks.

The maester of each castle usually tends to its own flock of ravens. Maesters raise a breed of large of white ravena at the Citadel that are said to be more intelligent and are sent out to mark the change of seasons. Ravens sometimes imitate human speech like parrots.

Most ravens are trained to fly to a specific castle, but some few can be taught to fly between two castles and are therefore greatly prized. Once in a very great while, a raven can learn the names of three or four or even five castles, and fly to each upon command. Birds as clever as that come along only once in a hundred years.[1]

History

The children of the forest taught the First Men to use ravens to communicate over long distances. The greenseers of the children could change their skins and speak through the birds.[2] Ravens can speak the True Tongue, the language of the children, a tongue no human can.

In the godswood at Raventree Hall in the Blackwood Vale there is a dead ancient weirwood of colossal size. Every evening at dusk hundreds of ravens come and roost on the tree all night, as they have for thousands of years. [3]

Jeor Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch has a pet raven that talks.

Quotes

The crow is the raven's poor cousin. They are both beggars in black, hated and misunderstood.[4]

- Aemon to Jon Snow

References and Notes