Raven
- ORDER: Passeriformes
- FAMILY: Corvidae
The Raven, Corvus corax is a daily and frequent visitor of our home. When we are down in the valley, we see a lot more Crows. So I know what you’re thinking right now. How do you tell the difference? IKR? Your next thought: The ravens are bigger right? This is true! But it’s all relative. For instance, I used to work with a crow, his name was Corvus. When he sat on my glove, he appeared every bit as large as any raven I’ve seen flying over the ridge. If you don’t have one of each to observe at the time… just how do you know?
Common or Chihuahuan? Their ranges overlap here. As does the crow, but I don’t believe we’ve seen a crow at this elevation.
At first I wasn’t sure. But there is one outside the window right now. I played the raven voices from here. Not only does his voice most resemble the Common Raven, but he answered the Common’s call. He did not answer the Chihuahuan. I actually feel bad now because he keeps calling… I tricked him.
😦
He has since flown away. He sits atop the shop building. He’s making a completely different call now. He bends his head down slightly on occasion, otherwise, his whole body bends as he calls. It a single syllable. Now I need to listen to this video and find out what he’s saying. I don’t see or hear the mate. We always see them flying together or within eyesight of one another.
When they are flying, it’s actually pretty easy to distinguish a raven from a crow. The Raven has a small wedge shape in the center of it’s tail, while their cousin the crow has tail feathers are rather rounded like a fan. To see a really nice picture of the tail of a flying raven, check out this photo from the Audubon site.
You can also tell a difference in their voices. The first time we heard a raven we both looked at the ground, expecting a huge frog (here in our arid climate… I know, but if you’d have heard it, you would have looked there too. 😉 .) Like the crow however, they have a variety of sounds and can mimic when they want to. Clever birds.
To hear a variety of calls and to learn more about their love life, I found this great audio from Michael Stein at BirdNote.
The raven pictured to the left and below, had been flying with its partner. The partner landed in another tree. This one had nesting material in its beak on March 30, 2019.
Side by Side Comparisons
| Corvidae | Raven | Crow |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 24″ | 18″ |
| Head / Beak | Bigger rounder head, longer beak, beak bristles longer from the nares, longer more bristly neck feathers | <- not that 😉 |
| Voice | Deep Croak (mostly) | Caw (mostly) |
| Tail in flight | Longer center feathers produce a wedge shape | Rounded somewhat like a fan |
| Flight pattern | Little flapping, soaring on thermal like a hawk | More wing flapping |
| How many? | Usually in a mated pair | Usually in a flock, known as a Murder of Crows |
La Casa Del Sol 