Focus… What is the difference between araven and a crow I love to see people pay attention to the Ravens but I getasked is that a raven or a crow everywhere I go so I'm going to show youhow to tell the difference between the two birds even when they're high in thesky! One of the smartest things I did when I was learning to become a chef wasI took the time to become a sommelier also if you saw the movie “Somm” you sawwe learned a meticulous method to not only tell the difference between thedifferent grape varieties and the regions they come from, we use all of oursenses to be able to look for the minut differences even between grapes grown onthe valley floor, and those grown on a .
Hillside so here I've put togethersomething similar to help you tell the difference between a raven and a crow in the western United States the two Iwork with most are the common Raven and the American crow. Now we're just goingto start with the adult birds we'll start by looking at the size and shapeof the body beak wings and tail and then we'll consider its actions while itslanding sitting and flying. Next we'll listen to the birds various sounds andcalls and then that'll help you come to the conclusion is this a raven or a crow. Let's start with size, buy when looking at the birds you can see side-by-sideit's an obvious difference but rarely do .
You see them side-by-side in the wild. A crow weighs about a pound to a pound and a half and a raven is about three poundsalmost twice the size. Also pay attention to the bill or the beak. You notice thecrow's is smaller and sharper where a raven's is larger and thicker. Also a raven manytimes will have a hook on the end of its beak a crow (usually) will not. Now when they'reflying in the sky or above you you'll see the Raven is much thicker with awingspan of 46 to 54 inches a crow has a wingspan of only 32 to about 38 inches. As a crow is coming at you watch the tail, and then the Ravens tail it's morediamond shape where a crows seems cut off and may have a little nick in it. Araven also has thick throat hackles that .
A crow does not have. Now let's look atthe actions a crow when it lands seems far more nervous will flit us feathersand we'll bob up and down. When a raven lands it's much more securethere are exceptions, in high winds a raven will land and will adjust itselfto the high winds appear like its flitting but actually it's just gainingits balance. Also notice when a crow is making its call it will bob up and downas it does so. When a raven makes its call it usually just kind of leansforward and kind of flaps its wings up and down in very short motions like this. When the birds are flying you'll notice that a crow does a lot more flapping ofits wings, that's because it cannot soar the way a raven does. When a Raven is inthe air, if it can it will soar and it's .
A beauty to watch and here we use theGrand Canyon and a number of Ravens to show you what a raven can do! Now crows may glide as they'redescending down to the ground but for the most part they cannot soar and theycertainly can't catch the thermals and go high in the air the way a raven will. You may also notice when a crow is making a lot of racket in the air it'strying to drive out an intruder in its area. Notice the crow dive-bombs itsopponent and ravens take great pride in getting crows to chase them. The crowswill do this with hawks also. Now when a raven has an intruder in the area, ittends to escort it out flying with it .
Rather than dive-bombing it. Now to methis is the most important part, listen, because Ravens don't speak crow. Crowsmake a caw caw caw and that's their number-one call. Listen to them when theyget together as a group… Notice the crows pitch is much higher. Listen in this next segment, and you'll hear crows clicking and cawing, andone Raven going kronk, kronk, kronk… See to me crow sounds verydifferent than Ravens. And here's the one Raven again… Ravens are also known tomake a much larger variety of sounds. A ravenpushes a lot of wind with its wings so its wings will actually make sound whenit's going over your head. A crow will .
(generally) not do this… listen… Okay one last thing and this is one ofmy favorites because I have never seen a crow make this move. A raven will foldits wings and drop upside down sometimes for hundreds of feet. Both the male andfemale Ravens do this, sometimes right after one another, and sometimes inunison. In high winds they'll repeat this move over and over again, drop againthank you very much, that was like perfect! Two other birds that can beconfusing, are the juvenile Ravens and the turkey vultures. Ravens whenthey're young tend to act more like crows, so therefore it could be quiteconfusing not only that their feathers .
Aren't grown out all the way so theydon't seem quite as big as an adult Raven. However I find the soundsdifferent, much more screamish than the crows caw caw caw. But addition to the soundthe size and the pink mouth are a dead giveaway it's a juvenile Raven. And thenthere's the turkey vulture. Of course on the ground it doesn't look anything likea raven, high up in the sky sometimes it can fool you at first, but if you watchturkey vultures tend to rock, they have lighter colored feathers underneath andtheir head appears small. So in review Ravens are bigger, their beak is thicker, their wingspan is longer, their tail hasmore of a wedge or a diamond shape, a .
Ravens actions are more calm. Crowappears more nervous. When flying the crow flaps and Yaks. A Raven does alot more soaring. He's the one that's gonna catch the thermals and ride themhigh into the sky. Whereas a crow would have to flap to get that high. Andfinally take time to listen to them. The crow, for the most part is prettylimited to his caw caw caw caw caw which is his most common call, and also theclicking sound. Now that will make more sounds and especially the young ones butfor the most part they'll never make the same types of sounds that Ravens make. (Raven calling, rock rock rock…) Thank you! (clicking sound) Something else? (gurgling sound) Gonna talk to me? .
What do yo have to say? Just know that both youngRavens and young crows will chatter and make sounds like these (raspy guttural sounds…) And then just let me leave you with aquick one of a baby crow, an adult crow, and a raven all together! (Baby crow cry, adult crow cawing, raven kronk, kronk) Would you get that crow? hmm? Would you get thatcrow? (Both birds call at same time) Perfect… Caw and a rock, great difference between the two, hey bud thank you! Test your knowledge with our raven and crow test. You cansee more of our videos and learn much more about the common Raven on both ourVimeo channel, and our YouTube. Check out the Raven Diaries. Our numerous books and movies and then .
Get out in the wild and enjoy thesemagnificent Birds! What are you doing huh? You going to dive for me? .
Dive for me in that pretty sun? There we go … perfect… Thank you!——————————————-See the movie “A Year With The Ravens”, there’s 2 versions; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD-VIviFnjc&t=5s and then with Rick’s Ravens at Crystal Cove; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBFmCDcXzok&t=292s See our first short, “Bob, Huey & Me” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eal9_dOcCxY See more of Raven Rick’s ravens in “The Wildlife of Crystal Cove” ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO9J-pteZ3U&t=963s Also, see Rick’s entire Raven Diaries including his first short that started his renewed passion for ravens, “Bob, Huey & Me” ! And Amazon Instant Video at; https://www.amazon.com/The-Wildlife-of-Cry
stal-Cove/dp/B00IB3QWPU Check out all Rick Boufford’s short films, books and Instant Videos (on nature, cooking, crafts etc) at Amazon here; https://www.amazon.com/s?k=richard+boufford&i=movies-tv&ref=nb_sb_noss In this video we show ” What is the difference between a raven and a crow ?” Know that in the western US we have Common Ravens and American Crows, so that’s what this clip is comparing. After viewing this video, test your Raven knowledge or learn more about ravens and crows by taking our “Raven Crow Training Test.” Twelve action clips of real birds with original sound just as you would find them in the wild plus three bonus clips challenges all corvid lovers to try to identify the Common Raven from the American Crow. Examples from all over the western United States include; The Grand Canyon – Arizona, Santa Fe and New Mexico, Olympic Peninsula – Washington, Bryce – Utah, Crystal Cove State Park – California and more. And remember the test is just for fun and actually serves no other purpose… Music is “Soaring” a piece written by my nephew Justin Enayat specifically for my raven videos, and I love it for I think it captures many of the emotions one would feel will flying and diving the way ravens do!