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1573_48 | Mexico
Ford de Mexico would market the Mercury Grand Marquis under the Ford brand twice. In 1982, the Grand Marquis was introduced as the replacement for the Ford LTD Crown Victoria and wagons, but it was always sold in Mexico as a Ford model. The Grand Marquis wagon was produced and sold for the Mexican market as the Ford Grand Marquis Country Squire; it was sold through the 1984 model year. From 1992 to 1994 it was manufactured in Mexico., after which it was imported from St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Wearing both Ford and Mercury badging, the Grand Marquis adapted a Ford Blue Oval on the trunk lid after 1998.
Although the Ford Grand Marquis was considered a sales success in Mexico and developed a reputation for luxury and prestige as the most expensive domestic nameplate available for sale, as in the United States, sales began to decline as the model aged. For the 2005 model year, Ford de Mexico replaced the Grand Marquis with the Ford Five Hundred, sold through 2007. |
1573_49 | Middle East (GCC)
The Grand Marquis and its Ford Crown Victoria counterpart were marketed in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, two members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC-Spec vehicles initially offered a lower price, reliability, and relative simplicity (compared to German and Japanese luxury sedans), but the GCC-spec Mercury Grand Marquis began to lose market share in the 2000s towards updated competitors (such as the Holden-produced Chevrolet Caprice and Dodge Charger).
Modification
Produced alongside North American examples in St. Thomas, Ontario, GCC-Spec versions of the Mercury Grand Marquis included several mechanical and trim modifications.
All were fitted with the High Ambient Temperature and Speed Package, heavy-duty battery, and an auxiliary transmission fluid cooler. Prior to 2002, export vehicles included a catalytic converter delete option. All standard-wheelbase examples were fitted with true dual exhaust. |
1573_50 | To upgrade handling, the Grand Marquis was available with an Export Handling Package as an option. The counterpart to the Handling and Performance Package sold in the United States, the Export Handling Package consisted of rear air suspension (with stiffer springs), a larger front stabilizer bar, and a heavy-duty rear stabilizer bar. In contrast to the U.S., the GCC-spec option retained the stock rear axle ratio. Standard on the LS trim level, the package was available for any standard-wheelbase GCC-spec Grand Marquis. Following 2003, the model was identified by a trunk lid spoiler (shared with the Mercury Marauder).
From 1998, the GCC-spec Mercury Grand Marquis was fitted with the 40/20/40 split front seats of the Lincoln Town Car (in place of a 50/50 split-bench). To accommodate for the Middle Eastern climate, cloth seats are standard equipment, with leather upholstery as an option. In addition, the language of warning labels are in Arabic.
Trim variation |
1573_51 | Middle Eastern versions of the Grand Marquis are equipped with slightly different options and features than their North American counterparts. Prior to 2009, six different trim levels were available:
GS
GS Convenience
GSL
LS (LSE limited to mid-2001 to mid-2003 and 2005 model year)
LS Premium
LS Ultimate |
1573_52 | In 2009, the LS models were only available with a column shifter and 40/20/40 Lincoln Town Car seats, available in luxury cloth or leather trim. The GSL is a long-wheelbase model offering of extra legroom for rear passengers. It is equipped like an LS model, with standard features such as an 8-way power driver's seat (2-way manual passenger seat), side airbags, leather-wrapped steering wheel, automatically dimming rearview mirror, electronic climate control, power-adjustable pedals, premium sound system with CD and cassette, 17-inch wheels with 235/55WR17 Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires, heated door mirrors, fog lights and special "GSL" badging. The once-optional gauge cluster is standard, with controls located on the center of the dashboard, between the headunit and climate controls. In North America, this model was only available to fleet customers as a commercial (taxi) version of the Ford Crown Victoria. |
1573_53 | For 2009, the Grand Marquis was only available in two different trim levels: GSL and LS, both of which were near-identical in terms of features and options. The LS was a Fleet model, which was heavily de-contented, losing once-standard features such as an overhead console with a compass and a power passenger seat. The Export Handling Package was dropped, eliminating features such as the Mercury Marauder spoiler and rear air suspension.
For 2010, the GS model reappeared in the lineup, and several features (such as the Mercury Marauder spoiler) became available as standalone options. The Export Handling Package was made standard along with a power passenger seat. In Kuwait, the LS model (M7F) was not available to the general public in 2010, as they are heavily sold to fleet buyers, such as the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health and state-owned Kuwait Oil Company, where they are given to employees as fringe benefits. |
1573_54 | For 2011, the long-wheelbase GSL was replaced by the GS, and the LS model was made available again to the general public in Kuwait. The LS Ultimate Edition remains a Fleet model and differed slightly from the GS, equipped with leather seats, electronic automatic temperature control (EATC), and an automatically dimming rear-view mirror. Lumbar support was no longer available.
References
External links
Grand Marquis
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Full-size vehicles
Goods manufactured in Canada
Cars introduced in 1983
1980s cars
1990s cars
2000s cars
2010s cars
Sedans
Ford Panther platform
Flagship vehicles |
1574_0 | Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Pederson spent most of his 13-season playing career as a backup to Brett Favre on the Green Bay Packers, where he was part of the team that won a Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXI. He was also a backup to Dan Marino on the Miami Dolphins and a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns until retiring in 2004. |
1574_1 | Pederson began his coaching career under Andy Reid, serving as an assistant for the Eagles from 2009 to 2012. After Reid became the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, Pederson followed him to serve as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator. He returned to the Eagles as their head coach in 2016, a position he held for five seasons. His greatest success was when he led the franchise to their first Super Bowl title in 2017's Super Bowl LII, making him one of four individuals to win a Super Bowl as a player and head coach. Dismissed by Philadelphia following the 2020 season, Pederson spent a year away from football before he was hired by the Jaguars in 2022.
Playing career |
1574_2 | Early years
Pederson was born in Bellingham, Washington, in 1968. He attended Ferndale High School in nearby Ferndale, and was an All-State selection in football, basketball, and baseball. After high school he graduated from Northeast Louisiana University, where he was quarterback from 1987 through 1990. He still holds multiple passing records at the school.
Professional |
1574_3 | Miami Dolphins
Pederson originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Miami Dolphins on May 1, 1991, out of Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana at Monroe) in Monroe, Louisiana. He was waived on August 17, 1991, before the start of the regular season. After spending the 1991 season as a free agent, the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League of American Football (WLAF) drafted him in the fifth round for the first pool of draft-eligible players on February 4, 1992. The second pool, which was drafted from on February 20, consisted of players allocated by NFL teams to the league. He was the backup quarterback to Reggie Slack with the Knights from March to May 1992. |
1574_4 | After the WLAF season finished, he was re-signed by the Dolphins on June 2, 1992. Pederson spent 1992 training camp with the Dolphins, before being released during final roster cuts again. He was subsequently re-signed to the team's practice squad, where he practiced on the scout team until he was waived on October 8, 1992. He was re-signed by the Dolphins after the season on March 3, 1993. After his third training camp with the Dolphins, he was waived again on August 31, 1993. For the second consecutive season, Pederson was re-signed to the team's practice squad, on September 1, 1993. Dan Marino, the Dolphins' starting quarterback since 1983, ruptured his Achilles' tendon in a week 6 game against the Cleveland Browns on October 10, 1993, forcing backup Scott Mitchell to replace him. Pederson replaced Marino on the active roster, and served as Mitchell's backup for the next four games. Pederson made his NFL debut on October 24, 1993, in a week 8 game against the Indianapolis Colts. He |
1574_5 | helped head coach Don Shula win his NFL-record 325th victory as a coach when Mitchell suffered a separated shoulder in a week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 14, 1993. In that record breaking game for Coach Shula, Pederson entered in the third quarter of the game and went 3 for 6 for 34 yards, and completed several crucial third downs. Pederson was able to steer the Dolphins to the win. Pederson also served as the backup to recently acquired Steve DeBerg for the three games Mitchell missed with injury. He briefly entered a week 14 game against the New York Giants while DeBerg was receiving stitches on his face. Mitchell returned as the Dolphins' starter after week 15, and Pederson was released in favor of backup DeBerg and third-string quarterback Hugh Millen on December 16, 1993. |
1574_6 | Pederson re-signed with the Dolphins on April 16, 1994, after the season ended. He spent the entire 1994 season on the Dolphins' active roster as the third-string quarterback behind Marino and Bernie Kosar. On February 15, 1995, Pederson was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the twenty-second round of the NFL Expansion Draft, after being placed on the Dolphins' available players list on January 19, but was released on May 24, 1995. He returned to the World League after his release, playing with Rhein Fire. Pederson re-signed with the Dolphins again in June 1995. After competing with Dan McGwire throughout training camp, Pederson was waived on August 22, 1995. Marino suffered a knee injury during a week 6 game, so Pederson was re-signed on October 10 to serve as the third quarterback behind Kosar and McGwire for the next two games. He was released again after Marino returned for week 9 on October 24. |
1574_7 | Green Bay Packers |
1574_8 | Pederson worked out for the Green Bay Packers following week 10 in 1995, due to a season-ending injury suffered by backup Ty Detmer and a minor injury sustained by starter Brett Favre. Third-string quarterback T. J. Rubley was forced to play in week 10 and threw a game-ending interception after calling an audible, going against head coach Mike Holmgren's playcall. The Packers signed Bob Gagliano to serve as the third-stringer quarterback for weeks 11 and 12. Pederson replaced Gagliano as the third-string quarterback when he signed with the Packers on November 22, 1995. The Packers claimed Jim McMahon off waivers from the Browns to serve as Favre's backup ahead of Pederson and Rubley on November 29, 1995. Rubley was waived on December 13, leaving McMahon and Pederson as Favre's backups. Favre did not miss any games, so Pederson did not see any game action for the Packers in 1995. Pederson served as the third quarterback behind Favre and McMahon in 1996, playing in one game but recorded |
1574_9 | no statistics. He received a Super Bowl ring following the Packers' win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. He re-signed with the Packers with a two-year contract on February 20, 1997. Pederson was again the third quarterback throughout 1997, backing up Favre and Steve Bono. Pederson beat out Rick Mirer for the backup job to Favre, as well as the primary placekick holder job, in 1998. In a week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Pederson replaced Favre in the last five minutes of a blowout game, and threw two touchdowns in his place. However, Pederson suffered a broken jaw that knocked him out for the team's next four games. |
1574_10 | Philadelphia Eagles |
1574_11 | Pederson signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on February 18, 1999, to become the team's starting quarterback under new head coach Andy Reid, who was Pederson's quarterbacks coach in Green Bay from 1997 to 1998. The Eagles drafted Donovan McNabb with the second overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft in April 1999, and Reid said Pederson would remain the starter until McNabb was ready to play. In his nine starts for the Eagles, Pederson had a 2–7 record, a 51.6% completion rate, 1,168 passing yards, six touchdowns, and nine interceptions. In his first career start, a week 1 game against the Arizona Cardinals, Pederson threw two touchdowns in the first quarter to help give the Eagles a 21–0 lead. The Cardinals came back, however, and won the game on a field goal as time expired, 25–24. Pederson went 12-for-25 for 91 yards and two touchdowns in the game. McNabb replaced Pederson, who suffered a bruised throwing shoulder, after one half in a week 2 loss to |
1574_12 | the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which Pederson went 12-of-19 for 100 yards and an interception. Pederson started a week 3 shutout loss (26–0) to the Buffalo Bills, going 14-of-26 for 137 yards and two lost fumbles, before being replaced by McNabb again in the fourth quarter. In a week 4 loss to the New York Giants, Pederson went 6-for-15 for 75 yards and two interceptions before being replaced by McNabb after halftime. Pederson's first NFL win came in week 5 in a game against the Dallas Cowboys. He played the entire game, going 11-of-29 for 145 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Pederson played the entirety of the next three games, posting a 1–2 record while throwing three touchdowns and three interceptions. In his final start as an Eagle, Pederson was benched at halftime of a week 9 game against the Carolina Panthers after going 3-of-9 for 28 yards and being down 23–0. He did not see game action at quarterback again until a week 14 game against the Cowboys in which McNabb |
1574_13 | suffered an injury in the fourth quarter. Pederson went 8-for-12 for 108 yards and a touchdown in the loss, and Koy Detmer received the start ahead of him in week 15 with McNabb still injured. After spending the next season's training camp with the team, the Eagles released Pederson on August 28, 2000. |
1574_14 | Cleveland Browns |
1574_15 | Pederson considered retirement after being released by the Eagles, but instead signed a two-year contract with the Cleveland Browns on September 2, 2000. The Browns' backup, Ty Detmer, suffered a season-ending injury, and the Browns needed a backup quarterback to starter Tim Couch. This was the second time in Pederson's career that he was signed to replace an injured Ty Detmer. Pederson started as the third quarterback behind Couch and Spergon Wynn, until Couch suffered a season-ending injury in week 7. Pederson started the next six games, posting a 1–5 record. In a week 13 game against the Baltimore Ravens, he was knocked out of the game with bruised ribs and replaced with Wynn. Wynn started the next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he suffered a season-ending injury and Pederson replaced him. Pederson returned for the final two games of the season, losing both, including a 35–24 loss to his former team, the Eagles, and a 24–0 shutout loss to the Tennessee Titans. Pederson |
1574_16 | was released after the season on February 22, 2001. |
1574_17 | Green Bay Packers (second stint) |
1574_18 | The Packers re-signed Pederson to a one-year contract on March 13, 2001, to replace backup Matt Hasselbeck, who was traded to the Seattle Seahawks. Pederson was the primary backup to Favre for the entire 2001 season, and was the primary placekick holder in every game. He was re-signed to a one-year, $650,000 contract with the Packers on April 2, 2002. Pederson again was the backup quarterback and primary holder in all 16 games in 2002. In a week 7 game against the Washington Redskins, Favre suffered a sprained knee and Pederson took most of the snaps in the second half, going 9-for-15 for 78 yards to help win the game 30–9. Pederson also played in games against the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, and New York Jets. He re-signed with the Packers to a one-year, $750,000 contract on April 29, 2003. For the third consecutive season, Pederson backed up Favre in all 16 games and held placekicks. He completed both of his passes during the regular season for a total of 16 yards. The Packers |
1574_19 | re-signed Pederson to a one-year contract on April 28, 2004. Tim Couch was signed to compete for the backup quarterback job, but lost out to Pederson and was released on September 5, 2004. In a week 3 game against the Indianapolis Colts, Pederson replaced Favre in a blowout loss and went 4-of-6 for 34 yards and an interception. The next week, a week 4 game against the New York Giants, Favre sustained a concussion in the third quarter, and Pederson replaced him at quarterback. Pederson went 7-of-17 for 86 yards and an interception in the loss before he suffered a hit to his side in the third quarter that resulted in a cracked bone in his back, a torn muscle in his side, and a broken rib. He stayed in the game up until the last snap, when he was replaced by third-string quarterback Craig Nall. Pederson was placed on injured reserve on October 7, ending his season. He retired in March 2005 to become a head coach at Calvary Baptist Academy. |
1574_20 | Coaching career
Calvary Baptist Academy
After his retirement, Pederson was hired as head coach of Calvary Baptist Academy, a private Christian high school in Shreveport, Louisiana. Calvary was going into its second year as a program when Pederson signed on in March 2005.
Pederson was the head coach at Calvary for four years, and held a 33–7 record in the regular season and an 8–3 record in the post-season. The Cavaliers were in the state playoffs all four years with Pederson as head coach. In his first season in 2005, the Cavaliers went 5–6 and lost in the first round of the state playoffs. In 2007, he led the Cavaliers to the semi-finals and to their first district title.
Philadelphia Eagles (assistant) |
1574_21 | On January 29, 2009, Pederson was hired as the offensive quality control coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, reuniting him with his former head coach, Andy Reid. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach on February 8, 2011, replacing James Urban, who was promoted to assistant offensive coordinator.
Kansas City Chiefs
On January 11, 2013, Pederson followed Andy Reid to the Kansas City Chiefs to serve as offensive coordinator. Following a 1–5 start in 2015, Andy Reid gave Pederson play calling duties, the Chiefs proceeded to win their last 10 games, which made Pederson a coaching candidate for 2016.
Philadelphia Eagles (head coach) |
1574_22 | On January 18, 2016, Pederson was hired as head coach of the Eagles replacing Chip Kelly. Despite having Sam Bradford on the roster as the starting quarterback, the Eagles drafted Carson Wentz with the second overall pick in 2016. Right before the 2016 season began, Bradford was traded to the Minnesota Vikings and Wentz was named the starting quarterback as a rookie. Pederson and Wentz won their first three NFL games together, but finished the season 7–9, missing the playoffs. |
1574_23 | Pederson's second season was much more successful as he led the Eagles to a 13–3 record, winning them the NFC East division championship and allotting them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Wentz, who was having a career year and was considered a front runner for league MVP, tore his ACL in Week 14, leaving backup Nick Foles with the starting job for the remainder of the year. Despite becoming major playoff underdogs due to the loss of Wentz, Foles filled in admirably as the starter, allowing Philadelphia to make it to Super Bowl LII, their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2004 season. Eventual Super Bowl MVP Foles led the team in a 41–33 win over the New England Patriots, giving them their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history and their first league championship since 1960. |
1574_24 | On May 3, 2018, it was reported the Philadelphia Eagles picked up Pederson's fifth-year option, allowing him to coach the team through 2020. Later on that summer, it was reported that Pederson signed a contract extension through the 2022 NFL season. |
1574_25 | Pederson's third season wasn't as successful as his previous one. The Eagles struggled with many injuries to their secondary and wide receivers. After starting 4–6 in their first 10 games the Eagles proceeded to win 5 of their last 6 games including upset victories over the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans. After winning their last game against the Washington Redskins and the Minnesota Vikings losing to the Chicago Bears, the Eagles made it back to the playoffs with a 9–7 record as the sixth seed. The Eagles went on to upset third-seeded Chicago in a defensive showdown, 16–15. During the final ten seconds of the game, Pederson called a timeout before Bears placekicker Cody Parkey could score the game-winning field goal, negating his successful attempt. Parkey missed on his subsequent kick in a play that became known as the Double Doink, securing Philadelphia's victory. However, after a promising start to their Divisional Round game in New Orleans, the Eagles fell to the Saints, |
1574_26 | 20–14. This was Pederson's first career postseason loss as a head coach. |
1574_27 | The following season, the Eagles had multiple injuries for the second straight year. After starting 5–7 in the first 12 games, the Eagles managed to win their last 4 games and finished with a 9–7 record for the second consecutive year and their second NFC East division title in three years. They subsequently lost to the Seattle Seahawks 17–9 in the Wild Card round. |
1574_28 | On August 2, 2020, Pederson tested positive for COVID-19 during training camp. He planned to communicate with the team virtually during his quarantine, and he relinquished day-to-day head coaching duties to assistant head coach Duce Staley in the interim. Pederson returned to the team on August 12. In the 2020 season, the Eagles had their third straight year of injuries, mainly on the offensive line. The Eagles reached a record 14 different offensive line combinations during the season. Pederson faced controversy during the Eagles' final game against the Washington Football Team when he pulled quarterback Jalen Hurts out for backup Nate Sudfeld in the third quarter while facing a three-point deficit. Philadelphia subsequently lost 14–20 to finish with a division-worst 4–11–1 record. Although Pederson said the decision was to give Sudfeld the opportunity to play, he was accused of deliberately losing the game to increase the Eagles' draft position. |
1574_29 | On January 11, 2021, Pederson was fired. Pederson finished his tenure in Philadelphia with a regular season record, playoff record and a career record.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Pederson was hired on February 4, 2022, to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He became the Jaguars' seventh permanent head coach and ninth overall head coach in franchise history.
Personal life
Pederson was born to Teri (née Boykin) and Gordon "Gordy" Pederson (1939–2016) on January 31, 1968, in Bellingham, Washington. A devout Christian, Pederson and his wife Jeannie have three sons. Pederson lives in Moorestown, New Jersey.
Head coaching record
References
External links
Jacksonville Jaguars profile |
1574_30 | 1968 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
American people of Swedish descent
Cleveland Browns players
Green Bay Packers players
High school football coaches in Louisiana
Jacksonville Jaguars head coaches
Kansas City Chiefs coaches
Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players
Miami Dolphins players
National Football League offensive coordinators
New York/New Jersey Knights players
People from Moorestown, New Jersey
Philadelphia Eagles head coaches
Philadelphia Eagles players
Players of American football from Washington (state)
Rhein Fire players
Sportspeople from Bellingham, Washington
Super Bowl-winning head coaches |
1575_0 | Xu Shang-Chi ( ) is a fictional character portrayed by Simu Liu in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) multimedia franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. In the franchise, Shang-Chi is the son of Ying Li and Wenwu, the founder and first leader of the Ten Rings terrorist organization. Trained to be a highly skilled martial artist and assassin by his father, alongside his sister Xialing, Shang-Chi left the Ten Rings for a normal life in San Francisco, only to be drawn back into the world he left behind when Wenwu seeks him out.
Shang-Chi has been noted as being the first Asian superhero to lead a large-budget film, and Liu's portrayal has been positively received. He first appeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). |
1575_1 | Concept and creation
The character was conceived in late 1972 by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin. Marvel Comics had wished to acquire the rights to adapt the Kung Fu television program, but were denied permission by Warner Communications, who was also the owner of Marvel's primary rival, DC Comics. Instead, Marvel acquired the comic book rights to Sax Rohmer's pulp villain Dr. Fu Manchu. Englehart and Starlin developed Shang-Chi, a master of kung fu, who was introduced as a previously unknown son of Fu Manchu. Though an original character himself, many of Shang-Chi's supporting characters were Rohmer creations. With artist Paul Gulacy, Shang-Chi's visual appearance was modeled after that of Bruce Lee. According to Englehart, his name was influenced by his study of the I-Ching, composed of 升 (shēng) meaning "ascending" and chi meaning vital energy. |
1575_2 | Shang-Chi first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973). He appeared again in issue #16, and with issue #17 (April 1974) the title was changed to The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu. Amidst the martial arts craze in the United States in the 1970s, the book became very popular, surviving until issue #125 (June 1983), a run including four giant-size issues and an annual. In the comics, Shang-Chi is raised by his father Dr. Fu Manchu to be the ultimate assassin for the would-be world conqueror. After learning Fu Manchu's evil nature, Shang-Chi swears eternal opposition to his father's ambitions and fights him as a force for good. As the result of Marvel later losing the rights to the Rohmer estate, Fu Manchu was later renamed Zheng Zu. Starlin, who was previously unfamiliar with Fu Manchu until Larry Hama informed him of the racist nature of the Rohmer novels, attributed his early departure from the series due to his embarrassment over the revelation. In the 2015 |
1575_3 | "Secret Wars" storyline, a version of Shang-Chi resides in the wuxia-inspired K'un-Lun region of Battleworld. In this continuity, he is the exiled son of Emperor Zheng Zu, master of the Ten Rings, a ruthless martial arts clan that uses mystical powers and techniques based on the powers of the Mandarin's ten rings from the mainstream continuity. |
1575_4 | According to Ed Brubaker, the copyright issue was one of the reasons for using the Mandarin as Shang-Chi's father. In the main continuity, the Mandarin had a son called Temugin who was trained in a monastery in martial arts and philosophy, his name is inspired by the real name of Genghis Khan, ancestor of the Mandarin. |
1575_5 | According to Margaret Loesch, former president and CEO of Marvel Productions, in the 1980s Stan Lee approached Brandon Lee to play Shang-Chi for a movie or television series starring the character. In 2001, a Shang-Chi film entered development at DreamWorks Pictures but after failing to materialize by 2004, the rights to the character were reverted to Marvel. In 2004, David Maisel was hired as chief operating officer of Marvel Studios as he had a plan for the studio to self-finance movies. Marvel entered into a non-recourse debt structure with Merrill Lynch, under which Marvel got $525 million to make a maximum of 10 movies based on the company's properties over eight years, collateralized by certain movie rights to a total of 10 characters, including Shang-Chi. Following the successes of Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians (both 2018), Marvel fast-tracked development of a Shang-Chi film, hiring David Callaham in December 2018 to write the screenplay and Destin Daniel Cretton to |
1575_6 | direct in March 2019. Cretton also contributed to Callaham's screenplay. Chinese Canadian actor Simu Liu, who had previously expressed interest in the role, was cast as Shang-Chi in July 2019, which was publicly announced by Cretton and Kevin Feige days later, along with the film's full title to be Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. After he was cast, Liu was called by Feige, saying that Liu's life was "about to change", having previously petitioning for the role since December 2018. |
1575_7 | Characterization |
1575_8 | Both being of Asian descent, Cretton and Callaham were cognizant of some of the racial stereotypes surrounding Shang-Chi in the comics, with Liu saying everyone involved was "very sensitive to not have it go into stereotypical territory". Cretton believed the resulting script for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a "really beautiful update" to the character from what began in the comics, and was an authentic story about Asian identity. Callaham added that there is "no single Asian American voice", and he and Cretton contemplated how the film could speak to "the wider Asian diaspora" and would be "exciting and entertaining, but also personal to all these people". Cretton likened Shang-Chi to Will Hunting from Good Will Hunting (1997), who is a "mixture of masculinity and vulnerability", noting both characters had secrets and superpowers they do not understand while Liu believed that Shang-Chi's struggles with identity were the core of the character, rather than his martial |
1575_9 | arts skills. When he was contacted to portray the role, Liu wanted the film to "allow society to see Asian men as powerful, desirable and an aspiration of possibility." Liu used experiences as a child battling stereotypes and 'microaggressions as being relatable to Shang-Chi's character arc of coming to terms with his heritage. He also sought to dispel stereotypes originating from Bruce Lee films in the 1970s that all Asian men know martial arts, making it clear in an Instagram caption that "Asian actors don't just do kung fu; but Shang-Chi does. It's one of the many things that flesh out his personality, but it's easily the most challenging from a physical perspective.” Despite knowing little about the character at first, Liu was reassured early in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings's production that "it was very clear from the get-go that [Cretton] was committed to telling an origin story of a hero [that] was not stereotypical, not a trope, who was fully three-dimensional and |
1575_10 | had a fully modernized [2021] origin story. In addition to Bruce Lee he also cited Jet Li as one of his inspirations when approaching the character. |
1575_11 | Shang-Chi leaves the Ten Rings organization for a normal life in San Francisco, with director Destin Daniel Cretton characterizing Shang-Chi as a fish out of water in the U.S. who attempts to hide that with his charisma, and does not know "who he really is". Shang-Chi changes his name to "Shaun" while living in San Francisco. Of Shang-Chi's decision to live a normal life, Liu found that "what he does is a little bit extreme. And it's also because he was raised under very extreme circumstances...I can't really fault him from taking extreme measures to get out of that situation." Cretton described Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as "a journey of stepping into who [Shang-Chi] is and what he's meant to be in this world". |
1575_12 | Since the character does not wear a mask, Liu performed many of his own stunts, having to work on his flexibility ahead of filming to do so. Liu also put on of muscle for the role. Liu was knowledgable in taekwondo, gymnastics, and Wing Chun, and learned and trained in tai chi, wushu, Muay Thai, silat, Krav Maga, jiu-jitsu, boxing, and street fighting for the film. Liu called the process of training and performing stunts to be "exhausting. there were a lot of grueling hours...but it was one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life." Jayden Zhang and Arnold Sun portray Shang-Chi as a child and as a teenager, respectively. |
1575_13 | For an early sequence in the film where Shang-Chi fights off assassins form the Ten Rings, Cretton took heavy inspiration from the works of Jackie Chan, working closely with choreographers Brad Allan and Andy Cheng, who were both trained in Chan's stunt team. Cretton stated that his favorite moment of the sequence was "The jacket stunt...when he’s able to take his jacket off, spin it around and throw his jacket back on. It's a straight nod to Jackie Chan from the stunt team of Jackie Chan."
Fictional character biography |
1575_14 | Early life |
1575_15 | Xu Shang-Chi was born to Xu Wenwu, the ancient leader of the Ten Rings organization, and Ying Li, a guardian of the mystical village of Ta Lo in an alternate universe. Shang-Chi's childhood was blissful, with his father renouncing his criminal ways to spend time with his family and his mother entertaining him and his sister Xialing with tales of her village. When Li is murdered by the Iron Gang, old rivals of the Ten Rings, Wenwu takes up his mystical ten rings and takes Shang-Chi with him to the Iron Gang's hideout, where he proceeds to brutally massacre the gang. Wenwu reactivates the Ten Rings organization and has Shang-Chi trained in martial arts as an assassin under the brutal tutelage of Death Dealer. At the age of 14, Shang-Chi is sent on a mission to kill the Iron Gang's leader and avenge his mother. Despite his success, Shang-Chi is traumatized by the ordeal and flees to San Francisco to assume a new life, adopting the name "Shaun". He leaves his younger sister Xialing |
1575_16 | behind with his father. |
1575_17 | While attending high school, Shang-Chi befriended Katy, establishing a close friendship into adulthood. |
1575_18 | Confronting his past
10 years later, in present-day, Shang-Chi is attacked by the Ten Rings led by Razor Fist. Shang-Chi fights them off but loses his pendant given to him by his mother. Fearing that the Ten Rings will attack Xialing for her pendant, Shang-Chi tracks her down and reveals his past to Katy, who agrees to help him. They find Xialing at her underground fight club in Macau, but are attacked by the Ten Rings led by Death Dealer, with Wenwu arriving to capture Shang-Chi, Katy, and Xialing after breaking up the fight. The trio are taken to the Ten Rings' compound, where Wenwu reveals that he believes Li is still alive and is being kept in Ta Lo, using the two pendants to create a map that can be used to enter the village. Wenwu plans to destroy the village after freeing Li and imprisons Shang-Chi and the others when they object to his plans. |
1575_19 | The trio escape the compound with the help of Trevor Slattery and his hundun companion Morris and drive to Ta Lo to warn the village of the Ten Rings. At Ta Lo, Shang-Chi is introduced to his aunt and Li's sister Ying Nan, who explains the history of Ta Lo and reveals that Wenwu is being manipulated by the Dweller-in-Darkness into believing Li is still alive so he will use the rings to break the seal imprisoning it. Nan gifts Shang-Chi with an outfit crafted from the red dragon scales of the Great Protector, the dragon guardian of Ta Lo, and teaches him the fighting style of Ta Lo. Shang-Chi defends the village with his new allies when Wenwu and the Ten Rings arrive to destroy the seal. Shang-Chi fights his father, but is defeated and cast into a lake. Shang-Chi is revived by the Great Protector and uses his newfound powers to disarm Wenwu. |
1575_20 | After the Dweller escapes its seal, Wenwu sacrifices himself to save Shang-Chi from the Dweller and bequeaths the ten rings to Shang-Chi, who uses them and the Ta Lo fighting style to destroy the Dweller. Shang-Chi later makes a paper lantern and lights it in memory of his father.
Back in San Francisco, Shang-Chi and Katy are summoned by the sorcerer Wong to accompany him to Kamar-Taj, where they are introduced to Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers via hologram. Wong, Banner, and Danvers discover that the rings are emitting a mysterious signal and Wong vows to keep looking into it. Shang-Chi then suggests they go to a bar, and he, Katy, and Wong sing karaoke together. |
1575_21 | Reception |
1575_22 | Karen Rought of Hypable praised the decision to have Shang-Chi already know who he is and what he can do from the very beginning, contrasting with many familiar origin stories seen in other comic-book movies. Of this, Rought noted that "yes, this is an origin story, but it was more about self-acceptance than self-discovery...that was a breath of fresh air for the first film about a new character in the MCU." She described Liu's take on the character to "offers us a perfect dichotomy in his role...He's a kind-faced, goofy, normal guy who hides a secret." Justin Chang of NPR was drawn into the character by his complicated relationship with Wenwu, saying that "[Shang-Chi] has a complicated, vaguely Oedipal rivalry with his father, who turned him into the fighting machine he is and subjected him to all manner of cruel manipulation and abuse", demarking the character's "depths of...trauma". Herb Scribner of Deseret called Shang-Chi "absolutely excellent" and that "he needs to be around for |
1575_23 | Marvel films for the foreseeable future." Scribner felt that "as Shang-Chi, Liu walks the line of a young man trying to find his way and a vulnerable young boy trying to find his family" and compared the character favorably to other leading characters in the MCU including Thor and Bruce Banner. |
1575_24 | After comments from 2017 in which Liu criticized the Chinese government resurfaced, saying that his parents told him that China was a "third world" country where people were "dying of starvation". A China release for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings thus became unlikely; this led many Chinese fans to express disappointment that they would not be able to see the movie, citing the film's decision to remove controversial character elements related to Shang-Chi as a positive.
Awards and nominations
Awards and nominations received by Liu for his performance as Shang-Chi include: |
1575_25 | Future
Liu has said that he has "no knowledge whatsoever of any of the future Marvel plans for this character or any other character" but would like to return for an adaptation of "Spider-Island", a comic he described as being a "very famous story in which Shang-Chi and Spider-Man have a little team-up moment" and that he would like for Shang-Chi to train Spider-Man in the "Way of the Spider". In an interview on the podcast Phase Zero, Liu also showed interest in starring in a future episode of What If...? as that would allow him to experiment with the character in ways he wouldn't be allowed to approach in film. In January 2022, one month after the sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was announced, Liu said that he wanted the film to explore what his character would do with his "newfound power" of the ten rings, as well as how he fits into the larger MCU.
See also
Characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Asian Americans in arts and entertainment
Notes |
1575_26 | References
External links
Shang-Chi on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
Chinese-American superheroes
Fictional Chinese American people
Fictional assassins
Fictional immigrants to the United States
Film characters introduced in 2021
Male characters in film
Martial artist characters in films
Marvel Cinematic Universe characters
Marvel Comics martial artists
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings |
1576_0 | The common raven (Corvus corax), also known as the western raven or northern raven when discussing the raven at the subspecies level, is a large all-black passerine bird. Found across the Northern Hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. There are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages in length and in mass. Although their typical lifespan is considerably shorter, common ravens can live more than 23 years in the wild. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory. |
1576_1 | Common ravens have coexisted with humans for thousands of years and in some areas have been so numerous that people have regarded them as pests. Part of their success as a species is due to their omnivorous diet: they are extremely versatile and opportunistic in finding sources of nutrition, feeding on carrion, insects, cereal grains, berries, fruit, small animals, nesting birds, and food waste.
Some notable feats of problem-solving provide evidence that the common raven is unusually intelligent. Over the centuries, it has been the subject of mythology, folklore, art, and literature. In many cultures, including the indigenous cultures of Scandinavia, ancient Ireland and Wales, Bhutan, the northwest coast of North America, and Siberia and northeast Asia, the common raven has been revered as a spiritual figure or godlike creature. |
1576_2 | Taxonomy
The common raven was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Corvus corax. It is the type species of the genus Corvus, derived from the Latin word for 'raven'. The specific epithet corax is the Latinized form of the Greek word , meaning 'raven' or 'crow'.
The modern English word raven has cognates in many other Germanic languages, including Old Norse (and subsequently modern Icelandic) and Old High German , all which descend from Proto-Germanic . An old Scottish word or , akin to the French , has been used for both this bird and the carrion crow. Collective nouns for a group of ravens (or at least the common raven) include "unkindness" and "conspiracy". |
1576_3 | Classification
The closest relatives of the common raven are the brown-necked raven (C. ruficollis), the pied crow (C. albus) of Africa, and the Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus) of the North American Southwest. While some authorities have recognized as many as 11 subspecies, others recognize only eight:
Evolutionary history
The common raven evolved in the Old World and crossed the Bering land bridge into North America. Recent genetic studies, which examined the DNA of common ravens from across the world, have determined that the birds fall into at least two clades: a California clade, found only in the southwestern United States, and a Holarctic clade, found across the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. Birds from both clades look alike, but the groups are genetically distinct and began to diverge about two million years ago. |
1576_4 | The findings indicate that based on mitochondrial DNA, common ravens from the rest of the United States are more closely related to those in Europe and Asia than to those in the California clade, and that common ravens in the California clade are more closely related to the Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus) than to those in the Holarctic clade. Ravens in the Holarctic clade are more closely related to the pied crow (C. albus) than they are to the California clade. Thus, the common raven species as traditionally delimited is considered to be paraphyletic.
One explanation for these genetic findings is that common ravens settled in California at least two million years ago and became separated from their relatives in Europe and Asia during a glacial period. One million years ago, a group from the California clade evolved into a new species, the Chihuahuan raven. Other members of the Holarctic clade arrived later in a separate migration from Asia, perhaps at the same time as humans. |
1576_5 | A 2011 study suggested that there are no restrictions on gene flow between the Californian and Holarctic common raven groups, and that the lineages can remerge, effectively reversing a potential speciation.
A recent study of raven mitochondrial DNA showed that the isolated population from the Canary Islands is distinct from other populations. The study did not include any individuals from the North African population, and its position is therefore unclear, though its morphology is very close to the population of the Canaries (to the extent that the two are often considered part of a single subspecies).
Description |
1576_6 | A mature common raven ranges between 54 and 67 cm (21" and 26") long, with a wingspan of 115 to 150 cm (45–51"). Recorded weights range from 0.69 to 2 kg (1.5 to 4.4 lb), thus making the common raven one of the heaviest passerines. Birds from colder regions such as the Himalayas and Greenland are generally larger with slightly larger bills, while those from warmer regions are smaller with proportionally smaller bills. Representative of the size variation in the species, ravens from California weighed an average of , those from Alaska weighed an average of and those from Nova Scotia weighed an average of . The bill is large and slightly curved, with a culmen length of , easily one of the largest bills amongst passerines (perhaps only the thick-billed raven has a noticeably larger bill). It has a longish, strongly graduated tail, at , and mostly black iridescent plumage, and a dark brown iris. The throat feathers are elongated and pointed and the bases of the neck feathers are pale |
1576_7 | brownish-grey. The legs and feet are good-sized, with a tarsus length of . Juvenile plumage is similar but duller with a blue-grey iris. |
1576_8 | Apart from its greater size, the common raven differs from its cousins, the crows, by having a larger and heavier black beak, shaggy feathers around the throat and above the beak, and a wedge-shaped tail. Flying ravens are distinguished from crows by their tail shape, larger wing area, and more stable soaring style, which generally involves less wing flapping. Despite their bulk, ravens are easily as agile in flight as their smaller cousins. In flight the feathers produce a creaking sound that has been likened to the rustle of silk. The voice of ravens is also quite distinct, its usual call being a deep croak of a much more sonorous quality than a crow's call. In North America, the Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus) is fairly similar to the relatively small common ravens of the American southwest and is best distinguished by the still relatively smaller size of its bill, beard and body and relatively longer tail. All-black carrion crow (C. corone) in Europe may suggest a raven due to |
1576_9 | their largish bill but are still distinctly smaller and have the wing and tail shapes typical of crows. |
1576_10 | In the Faroe Islands, a now-extinct white-and-black colour morph of this species existed, known as the pied raven.
White ravens are occasionally found in the wild. Birds in British Columbia lack the pink eyes of an albino, and are instead leucistic, a condition where an animal lacks any of several different types of pigment, not simply melanin. |
1576_11 | Common ravens have a wide range of vocalizations which are of interest to ornithologists. Gwinner carried out important studies in the early 1960s, recording and photographing his findings in great detail. Fifteen to 30 categories of vocalization have been recorded for this species, most of which are used for social interaction. Calls recorded include alarm calls, chase calls, and flight calls. The species has a distinctive, deep, resonant prruk-prruk-prruk call, which to experienced listeners is unlike that of any other corvid. Its very wide and complex vocabulary includes a high, knocking toc-toc-toc, a dry, grating kraa, a low guttural rattle and some calls of an almost musical nature. |
1576_12 | Like other corvids, the common raven can mimic sounds from their environment, including human speech. Non-vocal sounds produced by the common raven include wing whistles and bill snapping. Clapping or clicking has been observed more often in females than in males. If a member of a pair is lost, its mate reproduces the calls of its lost partner to encourage its return.
Distribution and habitat |
1576_13 | The common raven can thrive in varied climates; indeed this species has the largest range of any member of the genus, and one of the largest of any passerine. They range throughout the Holarctic from Arctic and temperate habitats in North America and Eurasia to the deserts of North Africa, and to islands in the Pacific Ocean. In the British Isles, they are more common in Scotland, Wales, northern England and the west of Ireland. In Tibet, they have been recorded at altitudes up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft), and as high as 6,350 m (20,600 ft) on Mount Everest. The population sometimes known as the Punjab raven—described as Corvus corax laurencei (also spelt lawrencii or laurencii) by Allan Octavian Hume but more often considered synonymous with subcorax—is restricted to the Sindh district of Pakistan and adjoining regions of northwestern India. They are generally resident within their range for the whole year. In his 1950 work, Grønlands Fugle [Birds of Greenland], noted ornithologist Finn |
1576_14 | Salomonsen indicated that common ravens did not overwinter in the Arctic. However, in Arctic Canada and Alaska, they are found year-round. Young birds may disperse locally. |
1576_15 | In the United Kingdom, the common raven's range has been increasing, though it favours mountainous or coastal terrain, but can also be found in parks with tall trees suitable for use as habitation. Its population is at its most dense in the north and west of the country, though the species is expanding its population southwards.
Most common ravens prefer wooded areas with large expanses of open land nearby, or coastal regions for their nesting sites and feeding grounds. In some areas of dense human population, such as California in the United States, they take advantage of a plentiful food supply and have seen a surge in their numbers. On coasts, individuals of this species are often evenly distributed and prefer to build their nest sites along sea cliffs. Common ravens are often located in coastal regions because these areas provide easy access to water and a variety of food sources. Also, coastal regions have stable weather patterns without extreme cold or hot temperatures. |
1576_16 | In general, common ravens live in a wide array of environments but prefer heavily contoured landscapes. When the environment changes in vast degrees, these birds will respond with a stress response. The hormone known as corticosterone is activated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Corticosterone is activated when the bird is exposed to stress, such as migrating great distances.
Behaviour
Common ravens usually travel in mated pairs, although young birds may form flocks. Relationships between common ravens are often quarrelsome, yet they demonstrate considerable devotion to their families. |
1576_17 | Predation
Owing to its size, gregariousness and its defensive abilities, the common raven has few natural predators. Predators of its eggs include owls, martens, and sometimes eagles. Ravens are quite vigorous at defending their young and are usually successful at driving off perceived threats. They attack potential predators by flying at them and lunging with their large bills. Humans are occasionally attacked if they get close to a raven nest, though serious injuries are unlikely. There are a few records of predation by large birds of prey. Their attackers in America have reportedly included great horned owls, northern goshawks, bald eagles, golden eagles and red-tailed hawks. It is possible that the two hawk species only attack young ravens; in one instance a peregrine falcon swooped at a newly fledged raven but was chased off by the parent ravens. |
1576_18 | In Eurasia, their reported predators include, in addition to golden eagles, Eurasian eagle-owls, white-tailed eagles, Steller's sea-eagles, eastern imperial eagles and gyrfalcons. Because they are potentially hazardous prey for raptorial birds, raptors must usually take them by surprise and most attacks are on fledgling ravens. More rarely still, large mammalian predators such as lynxes, coyotes and cougars have also attacked ravens. This principally occurs at a nest site and when other prey for the carnivores are scarce. Ravens are highly wary around novel carrion sites and, in North America, have been recorded waiting for the presence of American crows and blue jays before approaching to eat.
Breeding |
1576_19 | Juveniles begin to court at a very early age, but may not bond for another two or three years. Aerial acrobatics, demonstrations of intelligence, and ability to provide food are key behaviours of courting. Once paired, they tend to nest together for life, usually in the same location. Instances of non-monogamy have been observed in common ravens, by males visiting a female's nest when her mate is away.
Breeding pairs must have a territory of their own before they begin nest-building and reproduction, and thus aggressively defend a territory and its food resources. Nesting territories vary in size according to the density of food resources in the area. The nest is a deep bowl made of large sticks and twigs, bound with an inner layer of roots, mud, and bark and lined with a softer material, such as deer fur. The nest is usually placed in a large tree or on a cliff ledge, or less frequently in old buildings or utility poles. |
1576_20 | Females lay between three and seven pale bluish-green, brown-blotched eggs. Incubation is about 18 to 21 days, by the female only. The male may stand or crouch over the young, sheltering but not actually brooding them. Young fledge at 35 to 42 days, and are fed by both parents. They stay with their parents for another six months after fledging.
In most of their range, egg-laying begins in late February. In colder climates, it is later, e.g. April in Greenland and Tibet. In Pakistan, egg-laying takes place in December. Eggs and hatchlings are preyed on, rarely, by large hawks and eagles, large owls, martens and canids. The adults, which are very rarely preyed upon, are often successful in defending their young from these predators, due to their numbers, large size and cunning. They have been observed dropping stones on potential predators that venture close to their nests. |
1576_21 | Common ravens can be very long-lived, especially in captive or protected conditions; individuals at the Tower of London have lived for more than 40 years. Lifespans in the wild are considerably shorter at typically 10 to 15 years. The longest known lifespan of a banded wild common raven was 23 years, 3 months, which among passerines only is surpassed by a few Australian species such as the satin bowerbird.
Feeding
Common ravens are omnivorous and highly opportunistic: their diet may vary widely with location, season and serendipity. For example, those foraging on tundra on the Arctic North Slope of Alaska obtained about half their energy needs from predation, mainly of microtine rodents, and half by scavenging, mainly of caribou and ptarmigan carcasses. |
1576_22 | In some places they are mainly scavengers, feeding on carrion as well as the associated maggots and carrion beetles. With large-bodied carrion, which they are not equipped to tear through as well as birds such as hook-billed vultures, they must wait for the prey to be torn open by another predator or flayed by other means. Plant food includes cereal grains, berries and fruit. They prey on small invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and birds. Ravens may also consume the undigested portions of animal feces, and human food waste. They store surplus food items, especially those containing fat, and will learn to hide such food out of the sight of other common ravens. Ravens also raid the food caches of other species, such as the Arctic fox. They sometimes associate with another canine, the grey wolf, as a kleptoparasite, following to scavenge wolf-kills in winter. Ravens are regular predators at bird nests, brazenly picking off eggs, nestlings and sometimes adult birds when |
1576_23 | they spot an opportunity. They are considered perhaps the primary natural threat to the nesting success of the critically endangered California condor, since they readily take condor eggs and are very common in the areas where the species is being re-introduced. On the other hand, when they defend their own adjacent nests, they may incidentally benefit condors since they chase golden eagles out of the area that may otherwise prey upon larger nestling and fledging condors. Condors, despite their large size, do not seem to have well developed nest defenses. |
1576_24 | Common ravens nesting near sources of human garbage included a higher percentage of food waste in their diet, birds nesting near roads consumed more road-killed vertebrates, and those nesting far from these sources of food ate more arthropods and plant material. Fledging success was higher for those using human garbage as a food source. In contrast, a 1984–1986 study of common raven diet in an agricultural region of southwestern Idaho found that cereal grains were the principal constituent of pellets, though small mammals, grasshoppers, cattle carrion and birds were also eaten. |
1576_25 | One behaviour is recruitment, where juvenile ravens call other ravens to a food bonanza, usually a carcass, with a series of loud yells. In Ravens in Winter, Bernd Heinrich posited that this behaviour evolved to allow the juveniles to outnumber the resident adults, thus allowing them to feed on the carcass without being chased away. A more mundane explanation is that individuals co-operate in sharing information about carcasses of large mammals because they are too big for just a few birds to exploit. Experiments with baits however show that such recruitment behaviour is independent of the size of the bait.
Furthermore, there has been research suggesting that the common raven is involved in seed dispersal. In the wild, the common raven chooses the best habitat and disperses seeds in locations best suited for its survival.
Intelligence |
1576_26 | The brain of the common raven is among the largest of any bird species. Specifically, their hyperpallium is large for a bird. They display ability in problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes such as imitation and insight. |
1576_27 | Linguist Derek Bickerton, building on the work of biologist Bernd Heinrich, has argued that ravens are one of only four known animals (the others being bees, ants, and humans) who have demonstrated displacement, the capacity to communicate about objects or events that are distant in space or time. Subadult ravens roost together at night, but usually forage alone during the day. However, when one discovers a large carcass guarded by a pair of adult ravens, the unmated raven will return to the roost and communicate the find. The following day, a flock of unmated ravens will fly to the carcass and chase off the adults. Bickerton argues that the advent of linguistic displacement was perhaps the most important event in the evolution of human language, and that ravens are the only other vertebrate to share this with humans. |
1576_28 | One experiment designed to evaluate insight and problem-solving ability involved a piece of meat attached to a string hanging from a perch. To reach the food, the bird needed to stand on the perch, pull the string up a little at a time, and step on the loops to gradually shorten the string. Four of five common ravens eventually succeeded, and "the transition from no success (ignoring the food or merely yanking at the string) to constant reliable access (pulling up the meat) occurred with no demonstrable trial-and-error learning." This supports the hypothesis that common ravens are 'inventors', implying that they can solve problems. Many of the feats of common ravens were formerly argued to be stereotyped innate behaviour, but it now has been established that their aptitudes for solving problems individually and learning from each other reflect a flexible capacity for intelligent insight unusual among non-human animals. Another experiment showed that some common ravens could |
1576_29 | intentionally deceive their conspecifics. |
1576_30 | A study published in 2011 found that ravens can recognise when they are given an unfair trade during reciprocal interactions with conspecifics or humans, retaining memory of the interaction for a prolonged period of time. Birds that were given a fair trade by experimenters were found to prefer interacting with these experimenters compared to those that did not. Furthermore, ravens in the wild have also been observed to stop cooperating with other ravens if they observe them cheating during group tasks. |
1576_31 | Common ravens have been observed calling wolves to the site of dead animals. The wolves open the carcass, leaving the scraps more accessible to the birds. They watch where other common ravens bury their food and remember the locations of each other's food caches, so they can steal from them. This type of theft occurs so regularly that common ravens will fly extra distances from a food source to find better hiding places for food. They have also been observed pretending to make a cache without actually depositing the food, presumably to confuse onlookers. |
1576_32 | Common ravens are known to steal and cache shiny objects such as pebbles, pieces of metal, and golf balls. One theory is that they hoard shiny objects to impress other ravens. Other research indicates that juveniles are deeply curious about all new things, and that common ravens retain an attraction to bright, round objects based on their similarity to bird eggs. Mature birds lose their intense interest in the unusual, and become highly neophobic.
Play
There has been increasing recognition of the extent to which birds engage in play. Juvenile common ravens are among the most playful of bird species. They have been observed to slide down snowbanks, apparently purely for fun. They even engage in games with other species, such as playing catch-me-if-you-can with wolves, otters and dogs. Common ravens are known for spectacular aerobatic displays, such as flying in loops or interlocking talons with each other in flight. |
1576_33 | They are also one of only a few wild animals who make their own toys. They have been observed breaking off twigs to play with socially.
Relationship with humans
Conservation and management
Compared to many smaller Corvus species (such as American crow), ravens prefer undisturbed mountain or forest habitat or rural areas over urban areas. In other areas, their numbers have increased dramatically and they have become agricultural pests. Common ravens can cause damage to crops, such as nuts and grain, or can harm livestock, particularly by killing young goat kids, lambs and calves. Ravens generally attack the faces of young livestock, but the more common raven behaviour of scavenging may be misidentified as predation by ranchers. |
1576_34 | In the western Mojave Desert, human settlement and land development have led to an estimated 16-fold increase in the common raven population over 25 years. Towns, landfills, sewage treatment plants and artificial ponds create sources of food and water for scavenging birds. Ravens also find nesting sites in utility poles and ornamental trees, and are attracted to roadkill on highways. The explosion in the common raven population in the Mojave has raised concerns for the desert tortoise, a threatened species. Common ravens prey upon juvenile tortoises, which have soft shells and move slowly. Plans to control the population have included shooting and trapping birds, as well as contacting landfill operators to ask that they reduce the amount of exposed garbage. A hunting bounty as a method of control was historically used in Finland from the mid-18th century until 1923. Culling has taken place to a limited extent in Alaska, where the population increase in common ravens is threatening the |
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