Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about ravens. Thank you to pato donald for today’s request! First of all, let’s clear up some confusion. Ravens and crows look similar and are often confused with one another. Taxonomically speaking, they belong to the same genus and the names “raven” and “crow” are considered by some to be interchangeable for this reason. Others say that ravens and crows are entirely different. Some of their differences include: body and beak size: ravens are larger with more robust beaks; tail shape: ravens have wedge or diamond shaped tails; flying style: ravens tend to sore through the air without much wing flapping; and vocalizations: crows sound something like this and ravens sound something like this. Normally we would just focus on the whole genus, but since we don’t want to ruffle any feathers, and because we want to make sure the crows get their chance in a future episode, this episode will focus specifically on any members of the Corvus genus that have the common name “raven”.

Ravens are often the largest members of the corvus genus, and they are in fact the largest of the perching birds. In size ravens may have four foot (1.22 meters) wingspans and may weigh up to three and a half pounds (1.6 kilograms), though some species are smaller. These large birds can be found throughout most of the world. In fact, common ravens are some of the most widespread naturally occurring birds alive today! Ravens may live in mountainous forests, along coastlines, in scrubby deserts, on rock cliffs, as well as plenty of other habitats... except rainforests. Where a raven lives is usually species dependent, and there are approximately ten corvus species commonly called ravens. These birds like to roost on cliff sides or in large trees. Ravens may be seen in large roosting groups, alone, or in mating pairs.

It’s believed ravens stay with the same partner unless one of the pair dies - at which point the remaining individual will seek out a new partner. Ravens begin breeding at about three years of age. The parents build a lopsided nest or reuse an old nest from previous years. The female lays about five eggs and spends the next three weeks incubating them. When the babies hatch, both parents provide food. It takes about 45 days for the babies to leave the nest and they may immediately leave their parent’s territory to form their own social groups.

Oftentimes, ravens are associated with darkness, however, some ravens even come in colors other than solid black, such as the white-necked raven - who also happens to have a really robust beak! Ravens may be linked with spookiness because they’re often seen around deceased animals. Ravens are primarily scavengers, meaning they help clean up bodies which might otherwise contribute to the spread of diseases, so they’re actually beneficial to have around! Aside from scavenging, ravens eat arthropods, fruits, seeds, nuts, and eggs. They’ll even store food throughout their territory to save for later if food becomes scarce! Ravens start storing food in this manner as soon as they leave their parents’ territories.

In general, ravens are able to fend off predators. Nestlings and young ravens may be taken by hawks, eagles, owls, coyotes, and martens, but adults are generally left alone. In captivity, ravens have been known to live well past fifty years of age, however, in the wild, they likely don’t live even half as long.

For more facts on ravens, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.