Sooooo excited that you got to be in that room!! I *love* the photos you got!! And I hope the raven was as helpful to you as it obviously was to JKR!!!
Thanks! Speaking of ravens, one thing I learned at Leavesden Studios was that ravens are the smartest birds. They said that to teach a trick to a raven, it would take a day - whereas it would take several months (!) to teach an owl the same trick. Ravens are as smart as cats and dogs, and apparently have huge personalities. The trainers were saying that they had to be on their toes, because asking a raven to do something boring (like standing around) generally resulted in the trainer being bitten in protest. On the other hand, the tricks they liked (which involved carrying stuff from point A to point B), they learned and did perfectly! I'm not sure where in the movies ravens appear and carry stuff, but I thought that they did sound like the perfect Ravenclaw bird!
They definitely do sound perfect!! And weren't there ravens in Norse mythology as the messengers of Odin? Seems like I remember reading that in relation to some of the Thor/Marvel movies! LOL!! I do remember hearing that owls are just not the smartest of birds as far as learning tricks, etc., but maybe they're more like cats -- they *can* do stuff, but why bother?? ;-)
I think Nundu has a different opinion about ravens (see below). :-) As for owls, according to their trainers, they want to please; they're just not very smart on how to go about it. Actually, the trainer says that cats are not stubborn - but you have to set up smaller steps with them than with dogs. I think it's all about understanding the animals, whatever the species, and convincing them that they really want to please you. :-) As the trainer said, it's all about positive reinforcement, including but not limited to food. Animals thrive on praise as much as humans do.
Really?! Well, then, that statue is an eagle! No, wait, I still like the idea of a raven, smart birds that they are. Can the flying one be an eagle, and the standing one be a raven? Or viceversa? Even though they look quite similar? Gah. Why did JK choose an eagle for the house of RAVENclaw?
Speaking of Ravenclaw: when we took the Leavesden Studio tour, there was a guide/entertainer for the visit to the Great Hall set. They had uniforms for the 4 houses arranged along the walls, and when she talked about each house, people cheered. There were quite a few cheers for each house, except Ravenclaw. I was the only one who whooped for it. I don't get it. How come people don't love the Ravenclaws?
If you want some ravens, please come take some of mine! We have 5 or 6 that live around us and they're obnoxious! I had to fight them for the pears on our Asian pear tree last week. I found them strutting around the front yard, each with one tennis ball sized fruit in their beak! The cat is terrified of them! He won't go out if the ravens are in the yard (and that's a good thing; I think they could fly off with him!).
Wow, they're definitely smart birds, although I'm beginning to think they should have been the symbol of Slytherin. And sorry, but the only way I like ravens is as statues on a desk. Live ones give me the hibbie-jibbies. I'll let you keep them! :-)
PS: Could you put a net over the tree, to stop them from poaching? Or are they smart enough to get through that?
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Speaking of Ravenclaw: when we took the Leavesden Studio tour, there was a guide/entertainer for the visit to the Great Hall set. They had uniforms for the 4 houses arranged along the walls, and when she talked about each house, people cheered. There were quite a few cheers for each house, except Ravenclaw. I was the only one who whooped for it. I don't get it. How come people don't love the Ravenclaws?
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PS: Could you put a net over the tree, to stop them from poaching? Or are they smart enough to get through that?
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