Odds are, your entire trip to the North, you’ve been looking at the wrong bird. You’ve been checking for bald eagles when the real action is Corvus corax, the raven. A big raven will be a bit more than two feet (60 cm) tall, weigh 3.5 pounds (1.5 kg), and can live 40 years. To distinguish a raven from a crow, check for the shaggy throat and wedge-shaped tail. But it’s the personality that shines: smart, funny, and articulate, they have more than 60 distinct calls. If you hear what sounds like a faucet dripping from a tree, that’s a raven. Naturalist Bernd Heinrich tested ravens and discovered they have amazing memories: they stash food and go back to it months later. And they are adept at abstract reasoning and problem solving. According to the Natives, the only reason we have light is because Raven, the Trickster, stole the sun from a man who had hidden it. Raven had been white; the black comes because he escaped through the chimney. Not a surprising story, and clearly one born from long observation: ravens zero in to new objects in the landscape, which is why it’s not uncommon to see them flying around with butter tubs, tin foil and anything else shiny. Forget the eagles. Give a nod of honor and cue the light Raven brought. The big black bird is the real show.