what is the difference between Crow and Raven?

[phatgun]

Well in here I see crow everywhere eating garbages same goes with Gull

never seen raven i heard they are cool looking!!!!

Thanks y'all I wish I could see a real life raven!

[phatgun]

Wait the minute Crow and raven are they the same family?

[SDavid]

Ok Ashling,

I'm curious, which is the one that is known to like to pick up/steal shiny objects and take them back to it's nest? Crow, Raven, or both. And talking ability? How good is it. Marc Morrone of "Parrots of the World" has a (African?) Raven and everytime I go over to it it will say "Hello Dante" and it can mimic a human laugh very well. Who knows what else it can say.

Also, if memory serves me, didn't BirdTalk recently have an article which stated that the Raven was the smartest bird?

My wife is from Croatia and she tells me that while growing up someone in her town had (not really had, it was free to come and go) a Raven. And, it was very tame. The whole town knew this bird. But I'd have to ask her if she thinks it was a Raven or a Crow.

Visually I think I know the difference. There are wild crows here but I've never seen a wild Raven.

[huntress]

rows and ravens, although in the same genus (Corvus) are different birds. (Think of leopards and tigers; both are in the genus Panthera, and are obviously related, but they are quite distinct animals.) The words "crow" and "raven" themselves have little or no real taxonomic meaning. That is, the Australian "ravens" are more closely related to the Australian "crows" than they are to the Common Raven (Corvus corax). In general, the biggest black species, usually with shaggy throat feathers, are called ravens and the smaller species are considered crows.

Common Ravens can be told from American Crows by a couple of things. The size difference, which is huge, is only useful with something else around to compare them with. Ravens are as big as Red-tailed Hawks, and crows are, well, crow sized. The wedge-shaped tail of the raven is a good character, if you can see it well. Crows sometimes show an apparent wedge shape to the tail, but almost never when it is fanned as the bird soars or banks (except for a brief time during molt in the summer).

More subtle characters include: ravens soar more than crows. If you see a "crow" soaring for more than a few seconds, check it a second time. Crows never do the somersault in flight that Common Ravens often do. Ravens are longer necked in flight than crows. The larger bill of the raven can be seen in flight, but it is actually less apparent than the long neck. Raven wings are shaped differently than are crow wings, with longer primaries ("fingers") with more slotting between them. As my neighbor said, "Ravens are the ones whose wings you can see through." The longer primaries make the wings look more bent at the wrist than a crow as the bird flies, and the "hand" portion can look nearly pointed.

If seen perched in a good look, the huge bill and shaggy throat of a raven are diagnostic. The upper and lower edges of the bill are parallel for most of their length (3/4?) in ravens, while in crows the downward curve starts somewhere around 2/3 of the way out for males, and about halfway for females.

But remember, ravens are pretty uncommon around here [Ohio]. If you see a "really big crow!", chances are good that it really is a crow. Yes, there are large crows and small ones, but you couldn't ever tell which was which. Any difference in size (380g - 660g is the weight range around here; 800 - 950 mm wingspan) among individuals is not detectable, in that the range of appearance of a single crow (by fluffing or sleeking its feathers) is greater.

American Crows make the familiar "caw-caw," but also have a large repertoire of rattles, clicks, and even clear bell-like notes. However, they never give anything resembling the most common calls of Common Ravens. The most familiar call of a raven is a deep, reverberating croaking or "gronk-gronk." Only occasionally will a raven make a call similar to a crow's "caw" but even then it is so deep as to be fairly easily distinguished from a real crow. Ravens also make a huge variety of different notes. It has been said (attributed to native Americans) that if you hear something in the forest that you cannot identify (assuming you know all the common forest sounds), it is a raven.

[Courtzrocks]

Lol I still don't know lol. What ever the ones are around here they are smart buggers cos ya never see a dead one on the road and they make a croaking sound sometimes like they are saying "Vaarkwaah" and they also do the loud "Aark!" sound? i dont get close enough to look under their wings but what ever they are they're cool.

[Ashling]

lol thanks buteo!!! I love em. I think Ravens have a nicer overall conformation than crows. If you've never gone and read about Ravens, their history, characteristics- and how good pets they can be- GO NOW! They have a mind capasity larger than most parrots. It is said they have the capasity of a six year old child! And they have heaps of stories and legends and myths about them which is really interesting! My lory used to chase my Raven around :)

[Tinker]

They are shot on sight by the council where I live because they are considered a dangerous pest I guess they're not native at all to NZ, but other birds aren't shot that aren't native. We have to immediately notify the council if we see one. I think maybe they interfer with the balance of things here though - perhaps pray on some native birds/insects/plants. It's only recently that they've appeared here in Southland.

[Courtzrocks]

Lol I think they are cool (raven/crow...still unsure) my mum's friend raised one and she did wildlife too. Released the crow (i will call it crow cos i dunno) and it just kept coming back. She has flying foxes outside in a cage and the crow would just stir it up so much lol and even tease her cat and dog by swooping them when not looking and just staying out of reach and crowing to them which would drive them crazy trying to get it haha.

[Ashling]

DavidS- most corvids, crows, ravens etc are attracted to shiny objects- like many birds (and parrots as im sure you know!) Ravens can be taught to talk, and some can mimmick the exact voice of a person, while others make a croaking sound- it depends on the bird. Mine could say "mama" but it sounded like a normal caw formed into that general sound. And yes, there have been many tests done that indicate the Raven is the smartest bird (and some think the smartest animal!) in the world. They are not only tool USERS but are tool MAKERS- which puts them right up there with primates! In a test that was done with two Ravens- the Ravens were given a box with meat in it, and a hole in one end. One Raven was given a metal rod with a hook at the end, and the other Raven was given just a thin metal rod. The first Raven used the hooked stick, and stuck it in the hole in the box to snag the meat and pull it out. After no success with a straight stick, the second Raven stood on his stick and used his beak to bend it into a hook so he too could grab some meat!
Ravens also like to play games, like sliding down snowy hills and tumbling in the air!