WILDLIFE WATCHING  – If you don’t think crows are cool, you haven’t read “In the Company of Crows and Ravens,” (Yale University Press) by John Marzluff, a University of Washington professor of Wildlife Science.

To catch up, bring the kids and catch his presentation, “Gifts of the Crow,” at 7 p.m. on Thursday (April 11) at the Mobius Science Center on Main Avenue across the street from River Park Square.

It’s one of many fun events set for EWU’s Get Lit! literary festival.

Marzluff’s latest book, “Gift of the Crow,” (Free Press) combines biology, conservation and anthropology to present an in-depth look at the way humans and crows have mutually influenced each other. The illustrated book reveals how crows share human behaviors such as delinquency, risk-taking, and even language.

WILDLIFE — At least one bird species in the Inland Northwest was way ahead of the crowd on the procreation front, as I mentioned in today's Outdoors column.

But birdwatcher reporting from Pend Oreille County Wednesday said they a raucus bunch of hungry nestlings proved that common ravens weren't far behind.

A fair number of people around here can't tell the difference between crows and ravens.

And despite what some of my readers might suggest, I am not one of them.

Every time I mention crows in my column, I hear from someone who says “Those are actually ravens.”

Sometimes this is said in a good-natured way. Sometimes not.

It's always puzzling to me that people would be so confident in their mistaken belief that they would not bother to check their facts before taking the liberty of “correcting” someone. But I suppose politics and matters of public policy aren't the only things about which some of us willingly embrace erroneous notions.

Yes, we have ravens around here. But they have several distinctive features. Look it up.

When I say I'm talking about crows, I'm talking about crows.

So what explains the fact that so many people are confused? I've thought about this. And I think it all goes back to childhood cartoons and comic books featuring crows with yellow beaks. Some people see a black beak and assume it can't be a crow.

If you have another theory, I'd love to hear it.

www.cartoonsnap.blogspot.com