Conniving, vindictive and terrifyingly intelligent

The Gathering  of  Ravens  by Beth Surdut

A neighborhood association in Santa Fe county let loose a hawk and an owl to keep the ravens away because they were busily destroying roofs. I know the neighborhood-- it's one of those places where you can't paint your door in a color not approved by the neighborhood association. They vetoed the traditional turquoise blue that keeps evil spirits away.  Enough said.

One of my collectors in Alaska sent me this: According to the Anchorage Daily News, landfill workers are distraught by their inability to out-think the raven, "It’s the ravens- the conniving, vindictive and terrifyingly intelligent ravens- that really wreak havoc. These are the same ravens, everyone swears, that somehow picked out the personal truck of a worker who had been on harassment duty and proceeded to eat all the black rubber off his windshield wipers." When the harasser changed his truck for a red one, they did it again!