Foreshadowing - N43, B7, N33

[ignoblebard.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: N43 Weather - Sleet, B7 - All Creatures Foul and Fair: Crebain, N33 - Four Words Drabble: gang, remarkable, blackberry, nicety
Format: Drabble
Rating: General
Summary: Radagast loves birds

Radagast tossed a blackberry into the air, laughing with delight as the bird deftly caught it, acknowledging the nicety with bow. Remarkable creatures were crows, hardy and clever, though these of Dunland were especially so. They roamed the local offal heaps in gangs and flew in flocks several hundred strong through even rain and sleet. With sight almost keen as an eagle, high intelligence, and the ability to recognize and distinguish human faces and voices, they were perfect for the task at hand.

“Gather your flock and fly with all speed to Isengard. Saruman the White has need of you.”

Comments

[pandemonium-213.livejournal.com]

I really like this, IgBee! Needless to say, the nod to the natural history of crows went over very well with me. Radagast is absolutely right. They are perfect for the task, and I like the implications that Radagast knew more than what Gandalf presumed.

Have you seen this?

A Murder of Crows (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/a-murder-of-crows/full-episode/5977/)

It's a documentary on crows that aired on PBS (Nature) a couple of years ago. It's well worth watching. The crows are called "feathered apes." That's about right. They are wicked smart and demonstrate behaviors similar to ours.

[ignoblebard.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I haven't seen that documentary but I was reading crows have more highly developed brains than other birds and they do some incredible things, as one who takes the time to observe them will see. I like Radagast too. He got kind of a raw deal with Tolkien and I think the other wizards underestimated him, including Gandalf. He turned out to be rather important to the story, albeit in an indirect way.