Merlin (or Merlina), the cleverest and most sociable of the Tower of London ravens is missing. It’s a bad omen — if the ravens leave the Tower, the city is said to be doomed. But it’s saddest for London’s Ravenmaster Chris Skaife who Merlina had pretty much chosen as her mate. I met Chris and Merlina four years ago in the Tower and the way Merlina called to Chris as he passed on his rounds, and crooned and clicked as he stroked her beak was astonishing. It changed the way I thought about ravens, and all their corvid cousins. RIP Merlina. Here’s how you were back then.
On Tower Hill, by the east wall of Beauchamp Tower where Robert Dudley was imprisoned for a year, a raven called Merlin hides behind a yucca plant. I know she’s there because the Ravenmaster told me. He knows she’s there because Merlin (a female) and he are bonded and they keep tabs on each other throughout the day.
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