Don’t know how to tell a crow from a raven? Stuart Blackman explains how to tell the difference between these two common corvids <\/p>
The crow family, corvidae, includes some unmistakable characters. It\u2019s hard to confuse a magpie with anything else. The same goes for a jay<\/a>. But for every colourful corvid<\/a>, there are many others whose wardrobes are uniformly funereal. <\/strong><\/p> Distinguishing the predominantly black corvids of Britain and Ireland \u2013 carrion crow<\/a>, rook, raven, chough<\/a> and jackdaw \u2013 usually requires looking beyond the plumage.<\/p> Some are more straightforward to identify than others. Take the rook, for example, which is about the same size as a crow and is often seen in the same habitats. The rule of thumb, \u2018a rook on its own is a More dependable is the rook\u2019s grey, featherless face patch, which is unique to the species (though absent in very young birds). A chough isn\u2019t too tricky to identify either. The long, red, down-curved bill and red legs are the giveaway here.<\/p> Its highly localised distribution on the west coasts of Wales and Scotland also helps. The jackdaw<\/a>, meanwhile, is characterised by its small size and two-tone plumage, which is mostly black but draped with a grey hood sporting a black head-cap.<\/p> Ravens and carrion crows \u2013 both sturdy, glossy, jet-black birds \u2013 are perhaps the most difficult to tell apart. This isn\u2019t an issue in Ireland or the north-west of Scotland, where the carrion crow is replaced by the hooded crow, with its characteristic grey waistcoat. <\/p> Here, if your corvid is all black and has a fully feathered face, it\u2019s almost certainly a raven. Confusion is more likely in southern Scotland, Wales and England, where the all-black carrion crow is dominant. The most striking difference between them is in terms of size. <\/p> Ravens are huge. Weighing as much as 1.5kg \u2013 more than double that of a crow \u2013 and with a wingspan of up to 1.5m, they are the largest of all the passerines, or perching birds, an enormous group that includes more than half of all avian species.<\/p> Which is all well and good if you\u2019re lucky enough to see a raven and a crow side by side or, in the case of a single bird, something to gauge its size by. But that\u2019s often not possible in the field, especially for a bird on the wing. But ravens are not only bigger; they are chunkier, too. With a heavy head and bill, thick neck and barrel chest, they have the physique of a bodybuilder compared to the crow\u2019s sleeker, all-round-athlete look.<\/p> Then there is the raven\u2019s playful acrobatic flight, which often involves periods flying upside down and contrasts with the crow\u2019s purposeful style. In flight, the raven\u2019s diamond-shaped tail is also distinctive, as are its raptor-like, fingered wing tips.<\/p> If all else fails, wait for it to call<\/a>. The raven\u2019s deep, throaty, resonant cronk <\/em>makes a crow\u2019s caw-caw-caw <\/em>seem almost delicate<\/p> Main image: crow \u00a9 Getty Images<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Don’t know how to tell a crow from a raven? 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Stuart Blackman explains how to tell the difference between these two common corvids","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/33752"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How to tell the difference between crows and ravens <\/h2>
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