Introduction
While Corax and Yatagarasu ravens avoid each other in the wild, the bestiary records indicate that, once in The Keep, breeding ravens of the same species is more difficult than cross-breeding the ravens. Therefore, this study aims to compare the successful rate between same-species breeding and cross-breeding - with the hypothesis that breeding Corax and Yatagarasu ravens together should produce more offspring than pairing two ravens of the same species.
Methods
Raven eggs were caught from the Stream, raised into adults, and pairs were formed. This study divided the raven pairs into three groups: pairs consisting of one Corax and one Yatagarasu raven, pairs consisting of two Corax ravens, and pairs consisting of two Yatagarasu ravens.
Then, 10 breeding attempts were made in each of the three groups, and the outcomes were registered for posterior comparison.
Results
From 10 breeding attempts made in the cross-breeding group, 4 (40%) attempts were unsuccessful, mainly due to their natural instinct to avoid each other; on one occasion, the female of an already bonded raven pair had its attention attracted by a gleaming crystalwing. Regarding the 6 (60%) successful cross-breedings, all resulting eggs were Os Ravens.
About the Corax-only group, only 4 attempts (40%) out of 10 produced offspring.
Relating to the Yatagarasu group, a surprising 50% of the attempts were successful.
Conclusion
The successful breeding rates were similar among the cross-breeding group and same-species groups, requiring more studies with a greater number of breeding attempts, as well as selecting a bigger population of ravens, to obtain more accurate data on raven breeding.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to Master Belmos and the Archimage Thane, for providing their precious knowledge on ravens. I would also like to thank fellow magi for finding my shiny objects after being stolen by the ravens.
References
"Corax Raven #542." The Bestiary. Accessed 18 February 2024.
"Yatagarasu Raven #543." The Bestiary. Accessed 18 February 2024.
"Os Raven #725." The Bestiary. Accessed 18 February 2024.
"Breeding History." Records. Accessed 18 February 2024.
