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Ravens and Crows - Who's Who?

September 3, 2019
They look a lot alike, but there are subtle differences...
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American Crow and Common Raven Expand Image
© Tom Grey

Is that big black bird a crow or a raven? How can you tell? Ravens (seen right here) often travel in pairs, while crows (left) are seen in larger groups. Also, study the tail as the bird flies overhead. A crow's tail is shaped like a fan, while the raven's tail appears wedge-shaped or triangular. Another clue is to listen closely to the birds' calls. Crows give a cawing sound, but ravens produce a lower croaking sound.

Learn a lot more about these birds in this blog post.

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BirdNote®
Ravens and Crows – Who’s Who?
Adapted by Dominic Black from a piece by Frances Wood and Dennis Paulson

This is BirdNote.

[Suburban street ambient and Northwestern Crow sound]

So, you’re walking down the street, and a trash can’s been tipped over. And eagerly picking through the riches strewn across the sidewalk are several black birds. They’re crows. Or…ravens. No, definitely crows…maybe?

How can you tell the difference? Well, first off: listen. Crows caw:

[Northwestern Crow’s caw, caw]

While ravens croak:

[Raven’s croak]

And while Common Ravens and American Crows look quite similar, there are a few ways to tell them apart:

Ravens are larger. And they often travel in pairs. Crows usually hang out in larger groups.

Next, try to get a look at the bird’s tail.

A crow’s tail feathers are basically all the same length, so its tail opens like a fan. But a raven has longer middle feathers in its tail, so it looks more like a wedge or a triangle.

By far, though, the best way to tell these two birds apart is to look at their bills. The crow has a modest bill, but the raven has a great big chunky-looking beak that pretty much says "Yeah, that’s right. I’m a raven."

Ravens tend to stick to the wilder parts of the world, like woodlands and open spaces. But when you’re walking past those trash cans, you’re probably seeing crows.

[crows]

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

###

Producer: John Kessler
Managing Producer: Jason Saul
Editor: Ashley Ahearn
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Assistant Producer: Mark Bramhill
Narrator: Michael Stein
Special thanks to Dominic Black, Dennis Paulson and Frances Wood.
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by G. A. Keller and G. Vyn. Ambient recorded by C. Peterson.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2019 BirdNote   September 2018 / 2019

ID# 091605corvid AMCRCORA-01b-2010-09-28   AMCR-CORA-01d

Frances Wood
Writer
Michael Stein
Narrator
Tom Grey
Photographer

Related Resources

Learn more - and compare photos!Always more to the story! Caw vs. Kraa...Learn more at Audubon Magazine!Ravens, Crows, Jays and Magpies - More at All About BirdsFind your local Audubon society

More About These Birds

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Common Raven (Corvus corax)

Corvus corax

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Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

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