Thank you for reading, Pamela! Crows and ravens are special birds that just get written off as nondescript, but as I say about all birds we just need to look a hair closer to see the wonder.
Ah ha. I knew there was something different about the crows here at the river, and I surmise it may be that they are Fish Crows.
I have heard from various friends “I can’t believe it but I saw a raven here…” to which I have thought (likely you saw a crow), but it has happened frequently enough that I have started to wonder if their range was expanding. Indeed.
The swish swish of their wings is well known to my ears. A favorite sound to hear cutting through the desert silence. Or weaving through the old growth in the WI northwoods.
I loved the video of Rav. He surely loves to hear himself talk🤣.
After reading your wonderful explanation, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a raven, only crows.
There’s a local crow who loved to “wash” his food off in my neighbor’s bird bath last year 🤭 seriously! She had to hide it for awhile to get him to stop, but now that she has it out again this year, I think he is reconsidering it as an option.
Thank you, Teyani. I'd imagine that fewer people overall have seen ravens than crows, but maybe you've seen one and just didn't know it at the time! Washing food in bird baths is a crow behavior that does happen, but I imagine it's a pain if it's your bird bath.
James, very interesting and informative. I will have to send this to my daughter in California. She absolutely loves ravens and crows. She's obsessed with them. And right now my cat is pretty much losing her mind listening to the video.
James, it didn't upset my cat. It made her come up next to the phone and look at it. She was trying to figure out where that was coming from the sound that is
So awesome. Thank you, James. This is really helpful, and I think I'll now be able to tell the difference. The noise of the wingflap will be a huge benefit since that's often when I wonder about which is which--when I look up after hearing the flapping wings. Now I'll know that it's a raven if I hear that distinct flapping sound.
I only learned of the noise of the wings from doing research to write this, and I think that’s the kind of thing to look for that solidifies ID. A benefit of writing this kind of thing is it’s educational for me, then I get to share it. Glad you found this helpful, Jesse.
Alright, so I was pretty confident that the bird visiting my birdbath was a raven, but now I'm not so sure. He's a very common visitor. He soaks his bones in my birdbath! He's picking up someone's chicken bone scraps, and likes to get them nice and juicy in my water? The other day, he seasoned it with pasta with red sauce. I wish I could share photos here.
If you have any photos share them on Notes! Both species go to gird baths so we can't use the behavior to narrow it down. What made you initially think Raven?
Great article, James. I really appreciate the tip on flight patterns and tail shapes as ways to help id these amazing birds. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a Fish Crow, but we have large groups of American Crows.
At my friend's place in southwestern NM, there's the Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus). Their beak is a little longer and their heads and necks a little sleeker. There's a pair of them who have been hanging out there for years now, in part because he feeds them.
Where I am now, in Western Colorado, is another Corvid, the Black-Billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia).
I'd love to see a Chihuahuan Raven, that's so awesome! I can't blame your friend for feeding them. Maybe if I ever see one I'll write about telling them from Common Ravens. Black-billed Magpie are special, beautiful birds. I've only ever seen them a years ago on a trip to Montana.
I have noticed, too, that ravens are rather solitary birds while crows and rooks are more gregarious, hanging out in very large flocks. I rarely see a raven here in coastal California, but every evening more than two hundred crows fly over my house to sleep in the same large oak in the gulch near by. Their cries are deafening and they often blanket the streets where I live to convene and talk about their day before going off to roost. It is amazing how many there are. And not a little scary! Another tell-tale difference, I believe, is that ravens have "long pants" while crows have "short pants", referring to how far their feathers grow down their legs. I am especially fond of rooks (Corvidae frugilegus), a smaller corvid with a white face, but we do not have them here in the US (yet) but they are everywhere in the UK. Thanks for that excellent video! And the lesson.
Thank you for reading, Sharron! Good to know about the "long pants," I wish I'd known that to include here! Maybe we will get rooks here in the states at some point.
It's easier here in Europe! Ravens are mostly present in the mountains, or at least in more secluded areas - they tend to be weary of humans as far as I can tell. Their soaring flight is unmistakeable. Hooded crows, carrion crows, rooks and jackdaws are all common in urban areas, and easy enough to tell apart by even a mildly trained eye. But I don't think I could ever distinguish a Fish Crow from an American Crow!
That does make crow/raven differentiation a little more straightforward! Thanks for sharing that, Idris. The Fish/American Crow similarities make them confounding to tell apart, but also very rewarding when you're able to.
Excellent information, James. I like the descriptions for identifying Common Ravens and American Crows- especially on the tall shape.
One description I read somewhere about how crows fly is like they're almost swimming through the air. Now I cannot unsee that, haha.
Thank you, Neil. The description of crows swimming in the air is one that will stay in my head as well! Thank you for sharing that.
Love ravens. Thanks for this great post.
Thank you for reading!
Crows and ravens are my favorite birds! Thanks for writing this interesting article.
Thank you for reading, Pamela! Crows and ravens are special birds that just get written off as nondescript, but as I say about all birds we just need to look a hair closer to see the wonder.
Ah ha. I knew there was something different about the crows here at the river, and I surmise it may be that they are Fish Crows.
I have heard from various friends “I can’t believe it but I saw a raven here…” to which I have thought (likely you saw a crow), but it has happened frequently enough that I have started to wonder if their range was expanding. Indeed.
The swish swish of their wings is well known to my ears. A favorite sound to hear cutting through the desert silence. Or weaving through the old growth in the WI northwoods.
The range is expanding but I think it’s still safe to say: when in doubt, it’s a crow. Thank you, Emma, for reading and for your comment.
I loved the video of Rav. He surely loves to hear himself talk🤣.
After reading your wonderful explanation, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a raven, only crows.
There’s a local crow who loved to “wash” his food off in my neighbor’s bird bath last year 🤭 seriously! She had to hide it for awhile to get him to stop, but now that she has it out again this year, I think he is reconsidering it as an option.
Thank you, Teyani. I'd imagine that fewer people overall have seen ravens than crows, but maybe you've seen one and just didn't know it at the time! Washing food in bird baths is a crow behavior that does happen, but I imagine it's a pain if it's your bird bath.
James, very interesting and informative. I will have to send this to my daughter in California. She absolutely loves ravens and crows. She's obsessed with them. And right now my cat is pretty much losing her mind listening to the video.
Thank you Kathleen! Sorry to have upset your cat with the video, but I thought it was a good example of raven vocalizations. Thank you for reading.
James, it didn't upset my cat. It made her come up next to the phone and look at it. She was trying to figure out where that was coming from the sound that is
If you want to scramble your brain, take a deep dive into Common Raven vs Chihuahuan Raven. Infuriatingly similar.
That's one rabbit hole I can't bring myself to go down. Maybe if I make plans to be down in that area, but I don't have any at the moment!
So awesome. Thank you, James. This is really helpful, and I think I'll now be able to tell the difference. The noise of the wingflap will be a huge benefit since that's often when I wonder about which is which--when I look up after hearing the flapping wings. Now I'll know that it's a raven if I hear that distinct flapping sound.
I only learned of the noise of the wings from doing research to write this, and I think that’s the kind of thing to look for that solidifies ID. A benefit of writing this kind of thing is it’s educational for me, then I get to share it. Glad you found this helpful, Jesse.
I have a murder of crows that hang around my house, I like their caw sound.
It is a uniquely enjoyable sound, thank you for reading.
Alright, so I was pretty confident that the bird visiting my birdbath was a raven, but now I'm not so sure. He's a very common visitor. He soaks his bones in my birdbath! He's picking up someone's chicken bone scraps, and likes to get them nice and juicy in my water? The other day, he seasoned it with pasta with red sauce. I wish I could share photos here.
If you have any photos share them on Notes! Both species go to gird baths so we can't use the behavior to narrow it down. What made you initially think Raven?
Love them all. Crows are my favourite bird species.
A good favorite to have. Intelligent, beautiful birds that aren’t too hard to come by.
And, I forgot to say thanks for this - Great piece.
Great article, James. I really appreciate the tip on flight patterns and tail shapes as ways to help id these amazing birds. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a Fish Crow, but we have large groups of American Crows.
Thank you, Heidi. American Crows in large groups are always special, if a little bit intimidating. Fish Crows often flock as well!
They live in big families!
Bravo. I m comfortable telling crows from ravens, most times. You give me courage to try to distinguishing fish crows from the crows. Thank you.
Thank you, Rob. American Crow vs. Common Raven is definitely less intimidating than Fish vs. American Crow, but both are worth giving a shot.
Yeah I flipped out in Scotland where the crows wear gray capes.
At my friend's place in southwestern NM, there's the Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus). Their beak is a little longer and their heads and necks a little sleeker. There's a pair of them who have been hanging out there for years now, in part because he feeds them.
Where I am now, in Western Colorado, is another Corvid, the Black-Billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia).
I'd love to see a Chihuahuan Raven, that's so awesome! I can't blame your friend for feeding them. Maybe if I ever see one I'll write about telling them from Common Ravens. Black-billed Magpie are special, beautiful birds. I've only ever seen them a years ago on a trip to Montana.
I have noticed, too, that ravens are rather solitary birds while crows and rooks are more gregarious, hanging out in very large flocks. I rarely see a raven here in coastal California, but every evening more than two hundred crows fly over my house to sleep in the same large oak in the gulch near by. Their cries are deafening and they often blanket the streets where I live to convene and talk about their day before going off to roost. It is amazing how many there are. And not a little scary! Another tell-tale difference, I believe, is that ravens have "long pants" while crows have "short pants", referring to how far their feathers grow down their legs. I am especially fond of rooks (Corvidae frugilegus), a smaller corvid with a white face, but we do not have them here in the US (yet) but they are everywhere in the UK. Thanks for that excellent video! And the lesson.
Thank you for reading, Sharron! Good to know about the "long pants," I wish I'd known that to include here! Maybe we will get rooks here in the states at some point.
It's easier here in Europe! Ravens are mostly present in the mountains, or at least in more secluded areas - they tend to be weary of humans as far as I can tell. Their soaring flight is unmistakeable. Hooded crows, carrion crows, rooks and jackdaws are all common in urban areas, and easy enough to tell apart by even a mildly trained eye. But I don't think I could ever distinguish a Fish Crow from an American Crow!
That does make crow/raven differentiation a little more straightforward! Thanks for sharing that, Idris. The Fish/American Crow similarities make them confounding to tell apart, but also very rewarding when you're able to.