A Talking White-Necked Raven Refuses to Say ‘Hello’ But Is Happy to Say ‘Hi’

In 2015, World Bird Sanctuary curator Paige Davis aka PythonPage and her buddy Mischief the White-Necked Raven gave a rather amusing but informative demonstration of the bird’s talking skills. Mischief, however, remained true to his name and repeatedly refused to say “hello”, but was happy to use the more colloquial “hi” for the camera instead.

This is Mischief the White-Necked Raven. These ravens are found throughout eastern and southern Africa, and are common near human habitation. Like all members of the Corvidae family, ravens are extremely intelligent. They use tools to get food if necessary, and can even mimic human speech!

In April 2017, Mischief changed his mind and was more than happy to say “hello”.

A post shared by Python Paige (@pythonpaige) on

A post shared by Python Paige (@pythonpaige) on

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

Recent Posts