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harry potter - When is a raven like an eagle? When it's on the Ravenclaw house crest


I saw an image macro on facebook the other day that started me thinking;



Potter confronts Umbridge


I tried to look into it and I found two separate styles.



Fan-drawn Ravenclaw House crest



*Deathly Hallows* Hogwarts crest showing Ravenclaw eagle


Neither of these to me looks anything like a raven, besides being bird shaped.


Is the crest meant to show a raven, or just some sort of bird?


I've struggled to find an 'official' rendition of the crest, and this is the best I could find, but I've seen plenty of fan-mad crests that do show a raven, seemingly correcting this 'mistake'.


So why does the Ravenclaw symbol show an eagle, and not a Raven?




Answer



When is a raven not an eagle?


When the word raven is describing a color not the bird. It is an easy mistake to make if you are unfamiliar with old world naming conventions.



Raven


/ˈrāvən/ -


Noun: A large heavily built crow, esp. the all-black common raven (Corvus corax), feeding chiefly on carrion.


Adjective: Of a glossy black color


Verb: (of a ferocious wild animal) Hunt for prey.


Synonyms





  • noun: crow - corbie - rook;




  • adjective: black;




  • verb: pillage - loot - maraud - harry - devour






The name of the founder was Rowena Ravenclaw. The raven being described is not a bird that is a raven, but the color of the claw of the bird (an eagle) that is being described. Rowena Ravenclaw gave her name and her standard which included an eagle that is described in its name as raven-clawed. (black colored claws)


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