Pied Raven

The White Colorful Raven was a special color morph of the northwestern subspecies Corvus corax varius of ravens. The White Raven Colorful felt only in the Faroe Islands and applies since the mid-20th century as extinct.

The White Raven is called Colorful hvítravnur in Faroese, which literally means white raven. Like its " cousin ", the Faroese Raven, the White Colorful Raven was also black, but with large white spring games, which were interspersed with scattered black feathers. The preparations have obtained have small differences, but they all have white parts in the head, wings and abdomen. Her legs are just as black as the black raven, but light brown their beaks.

It is an established fact that it was not about individual albinos of black ravens in this morph, but a constantly occurring population.

Probably lived the White Colorful Raven since at least the Middle Ages in the Faroe Islands. He has often been described. The oldest source is the Faroese ballad Fuglakvæði Eldra from the period before 1500, which mentioned 40 species of birds, including even the Great Auk. Among other things, the White Colorful Raven in the Faroe descriptions of Lucas Debes ( 1673 ) and Jens Christian Svabo (1781 /82) is mentioned. Even Carl Julian of Graba reported in 1828 by ten copies, which he himself had seen and described him as quite often. However, the black Faroese Raven was more frequent at all times.

The first Faroese painter, Díðrikur á Skarvanesi (1802-1865), who was known for his depictions of birds, a picture of the White Colorful Raven is thanks to them that is still to be seen at the Art Museum of the Faroe Islands today.

The White Colorful Raven was because of its rarity, a coveted collector's item collectors abroad, hence its stock went through hunting always go back. For example, it is reported from the 19th century that the community leader Hans Christopher Müller paid two Danish rix-dollars for a prepared specimen from Nólsoy.

One of the last ones was killed on November 2, 1902 Mykines. A Pied Raven at Velbastaður and Koltur yet been seen in the autumn of 1916. The last known specimen appeared on Nólsoy in the snow winter of 1947 and then again in the second half of 1948. Due to the increased attention to the last copies, it is unlikely that there were other individuals thereafter. Since then, the White Colorful Raven is considered extinct.

Today, worldwide, there are still 15 known compounds: 6 in Copenhagen, 4 in New York, two in Uppsala and 1 in Leiden, Braunschweig and the Museum of Zoology Dresden.

In 1995, the extinct White Colorful Raven was immortalized on a postage stamp of the Faroese post office, which was drawn by the Faroese scientific artist Astrid Andreasen.

Pied Raven, Kollafjørður, September 24, 1869. Zoological Museum Copenhagen

Pied Raven ( copy). Føroya Náttúrugripasavn ( Faroese Museum of Natural History ), Tórshavn

Colorful White Raven in Copenhagen Zoological Museum