Common Raven
American Indian folklore often portrays ravens as tricksters. Ravens engage in seemingly playful acts. They are known to yank the tails of cats and dogs and even to peck on their victim's noses.

Common Ravens are residents throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. They occur in diverse habitats ranging from the ice floes of the Arctic, through the boreal forests of Canada and mountains of the West, to the deserts of the southwest and the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Formerly they were associated with bison and wolves on the grasslands of the Great Plains, but their range diminished with the disappearance of the bison and prairies. During the 1800s, Common Ravens retreated from eastern coastal areas. Although they once ranged as far south as North Carolina, they now occur along the Atlantic coast only from Maine to the north. Their former range in the Southeast was reduced to the Appalachian wilderness. In the latter half of the twentieth century and especially in the last decade however, they have adapted to urban areas and re-established part of their former range in the East.
Common Raven Range Map

Raven habitat typically includes terrain that produces thermals for soaring, with cliffs or tall trees for nesting. Along the coast, ravens often live near seabird colonies where they prey on eggs and nestlings. They sometimes build nests in heron rookeries. Ravens remain paired all year, perhaps for life. At the onset of the breeding season, they engage in acrobatic flight displays with steep dives and rolls. Raven nests are large bulky structures, from two to four feet in diameter. They are constructed of twigs and branches and are lined with grass, moss, and fur. Females lay eggs from mid-February to late May, depending on the latitude. The female incubates three to seven eggs for about three weeks, during which time the male feeds her. Both parents feed the young. After five or six weeks, the nestlings fledge. Fledglings may remain with their parents for another six months. Young ravens are very curious. They manipulate strange objects with their bills to become familiar with them. As they grow older, they become more cautious about approaching the unfamiliar.

Ravens are opportunistic omnivores. They scavenge much of their diet from carrion. They also eat rodents, eggs, nestlings, and grain. In some parts of their range, such as the Arctic and desert regions, they may feed on garbage and waste near human settlements. Ravens are usually found solitarily or in pairs. However, when they find especially good food sources, such as carcasses of large mammals or abundant grain, they may form large communal roosts. Some roosts in the West have numbered over 2,000 birds and lasted for months.

Description: Common Ravens are the largest passerine birds in North America, with wingspans of just over four feet. The long tail is wedge-shaped in flight, and the wings appear long with prominent "fingers." Common Ravens have elongated and pointed feathers, called hackles, on the neck, giving the neck a thick and shaggy appearance. The large bill is curved on the top and is partially obscured by feathers called rictal bristles. The glossy black plumage has a greenish sheen on the head, underparts, tail, and primary feathers of the wing. The gloss is bluish-purple on the secondaries, wing coverts, and back. The gloss becomes duller with wear, and the feathers turn brownish. Legs, feet and bill are black. Juveniles and immatures lack the glossy sheen. They have blackish brown wings and tail feathers until their second summer.

Distinguishing Common Ravens from other corvids in North America can be difficult. Their distinctive voice separates them from crows. They give a variety of sounds including a croaking call, "rrrock, rrrock." The voice of the Chihuahuan Raven is similar, but not as deep. Compared to both the Chihuahuan Raven of the Southwest deserts, and other crow species, Common Ravens are much larger, with relatively larger bills, longer tails, and longer, more tapered wings. Their long bills and shaggy throat are distinctive. The head and neck project more prominently beyond the wings than in other corvids. Common Ravens tend to soar and glide more than crows, and they have shallower wingbeats. The hackles of the Chihuahuan Raven show whitish bases when exposed by wind or preening. The rictal bristles of the Common Raven extend less than half way to the tip of the bill, while in Chihuahuan Raven, they cover more than half of the distance.


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