what is the difference between Crow and Raven?

[phatgun]

Tell me, they look alike!!!

[isoscelestri]

Here's a decent page on the comparison of Crows and Ravens:
TheRaven's Aviary - Crow vs. Raven

[tamaran2]

Yea I found the same information so I just copied it for you;

Ravens and Crows

What's the Difference?



Many people use the terms 'raven' and 'crow' interchangeably, but they are actually quite different. Technically, since ravens belong to the crow (corvus) family of birds, they can be called crows - but not all crows are ravens. The two differ in a variety of ways.

Size
First, and most noticeably, ravens are larger than crows. They are (on average) about the size of a hawk, where crows are approximately the size of a pigeon.

Call
If you're familiar with the call which crows make, you'd probably recognize the raven's call as being different. Crows have a more nasal, higher pitched call, where a raven's call is lower, and hoarser... almost a croaking sound. I've frequently been approached by people saying "I heard this really funny-sounding crow the other day..." and when I ask "Was it a really big crow?" the answer has almost invariably been yes. In which case, chances are pretty good that it wasn't a crow at all, but a raven.
If you want to hear the difference for yourself, click here for a raven's call and crow's call.

Tail feathers

Crows have a very fan-shaped tail, where raven's tails have more of a wedge-shape to them. This isn't very easy to tell if the bird is sitting on the ground, but when flying overhead, you can often get a good look at the shape of the tail.
raven's tail vs crow's tail

Feather shape

Ravens' feathers are also a slightly different shape than crows' feathers. Crow feathers tend to be more rounded at the tip, while ravens have feathers which are slightly pointed. This is most noticeable on the breast feathers, especially when the bird fluffs itself up. The feathers on the crow's breast lie comfortably against eachother and provide a nice, even, rounded covering. The feathers on a raven lie a little more jaggedly, and when a raven fluffs up, its breast tends to look ragged. In fact, when a raven really fluffs up and all its feathers look like they're standing on end, the raven appears to have a short fluffy mane (called a 'ruff').

Habitat

Ravens and crows can often be found living side by side in the same areas, but where there's a choice, Ravens prefer wilder areas while crows will live quite close to cities. The bigger the city, the less likely ravens will make it their home -- and when they do, they tend to live in or near parks and natural spaces. Crows, on the other hand, are more likely to live near buildings, and will venture farther into human developments to compete for food.



There are more differences between crows and ravens, including their social habits and life span (ravens live longer), but these are the key points. They should help you determine whether the bird you're looking at is a raven or just a very large crow.

The Aviary
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[DarwinTheSun]

Ravens are so much bigger! I don't think I saw ravens until moved out to Washington, and I thought they were hawks at first. They are that big. Probably about 3 times the size of a big crow.

[tamaran2]

We have both here. And they hang out together so you get to see a size difference easy. And the size difference is huge verses normal....Btw, we have the biggest Hawks I have seen in my life here. The first time one landed in our trees I thought it was an eagle.

[huntress]

I thought ravens were much bigger. guess I was right.

[lilmama]

Wow, I always thought those big guys walking around on my lawn were crows but they are HUGE so they must be ravens. They are seriously large, almost the size of the wild turkeys that roam around here as well. I'll have to take a picture for y'all!

[Courtzrocks]

Ok here in Australia we just call them crows...they are really big but not sure if they are as big as a hawk but are definately not as small as a pigeon. They have blue eyes and about the size of a currawong...think currawongs are native to Australia so that probably wouldnt help... probably is a raven but not sure...sounds like it is inbetween..unless the hawks over there are smaller to the ones over here?

[Ashling]

People ask me that all the time! I'm a Raven fanatic- my absolute favorite bird/ thing/ animal/ entity/ art- EVERYTHING! There are many differences including the wedged tail of a raven, larger hackles, thicker heavier beak, ravens are a third larger than crows, have heavily fingered wings, have different voices- ravens being deep and hoarse, are found in different locations- sometimes overlapping and also crows have WHITE underfeathers and Ravens have GREY! I have a Raven tattoo, a silver Raven necklace which I've had on no stop for a year, and just recently reintroduced a young raven to the wild, who I took in as a failing fledgeling with crippled feet. I taught her to fly and find bugs and eat the right stuff and stay away from dogs- I hope she's doing well! Ravens have so much lore and history- some people even believed they created the world. I could go on forever!!! I love corvids. My favorite is the Australian Raven but the Little Raven (corvus mellori) is my speciality! There are 5 species of native ravens/ crows in Australia, and in the US there's the mother of them all- the common raven (corvus corax) <3. Mmmmm... Ask me anything I can tell you!!!? lol

[Buteo]

Originally Posted by Ashling

People ask me that all the time! I'm a Raven fanatic-There are many differences including the wedged tail of a raven, larger hackles, thicker heavier beak, ravens are a third larger than crows, have heavily fingered wings, have different voices- ravens being deep and hoarse, are found in different locations- sometimes overlapping and also crows have WHITE underfeathers and Ravens have GREY! I have a Raven tattoo, a silver Raven necklace which I've had on no stop for a year, and just recently reintroduced a young raven to the wild, who I took in as a failing fledgeling with crippled feet. I taught her to fly and find bugs and eat the right stuff and stay away from dogs- I hope she's doing well! Ravens have so much lore and history- some people even believed they created the world. I could go on forever!!! I love corvids. My favorite is the Australian Raven but the Little Raven (corvus mellori) is my speciality! There are 5 species of native ravens/ crows in Australia, and in the US there's the mother of them all- the common raven (corvus corax) <3. Mmmmm... Ask me anything I can tell you!!!? lol

WOW!!!! Awesome review of the differences!

I'm very impressed!!!!
I was just going to say to phatgun, if you can't tell the difference between a Crow and a Raven, then you aren't looking hard enough.....
then I was going to post those very same things.!

Me, I'm ususally able to tell by the overall size, beak shape and call.