The ‘talking’ raven that’s taken social media by storm

A video of a raven that responds to its handler with sounds that sound like ‘hello’ and ‘hi’ in exchange for treats is being widely shared on social media. The raven also imitates a person’s coughing.

The video doing the rounds on social media shows the raven with its handler Paige Davis, who is a bird trainer at the World Bird Sanctuary in the US. The bird named Mischief is a white necked raven, that is native to Africa.

While many species of parrots, parakeets, and cockatoos can imitate a wide range of sounds including human words, it is believed to depend on their training. Studies have pointed that ravens in the wild can’t pick up human language but can do so if in captivity or they live in cities.