\[ **BT: [[birds]]** ] --- # ravens Members of the [[birds#Corvidae (Family)|corvid family]].[^1] [[Ravens and crows are frequently mixed-up and confused with each other.|Often confused with]] [[birds#crows|crows]].[^2] (See: [[#ravens compared with crows]].) > [[‘There is something ancient and distinguished about a raven.’| ‘There is something ancient and distinguished about a raven: the mischievous trickster, the acrobat and skillful master of flight, the knowing eye. Ravens are individuals.’]][^3] [[Ravens mate for life (and they live a very long time).]][^3] [[The size of a raven's territory depends on the availability of food.]][^4] Ravens typically rear one clutch a year.[^5] Half their young will not survive their first year.[^6] While the female is sitting on the nest, the male partner is the one fetching food.[^7] ## raven subtypes **Australian raven:** *Corvus coronides*. **Common raven:** *Corvus corvax*. **Little raven:** *Corvus mellori*. ### common ravens Common ravens are confident and inquisitive.[^8] ## human–raven interactions > [[A raven is ‘more than just a bird. Arguably the most intelligent bird on the planet, the raven looks back at humans with its brown eyes and reminds us of where we began.’]][^9] > [[In the words of Berndt Heinrich (1989), ‘the raven is not just a bird, it is a being masquerading as a crow, and it has been to almost all humans who have had extended contact with it’.]][^10] [[Ravens and humans have worked together since ‘the earliest times’.]][^11] [[Human hunter-gatherers may have followed ravens as a way to find scavengable meat.]][^12] [[Ravens engage in a symbiotic relationship with larger carnivorous animals, which likely includes humans, since ravens need ‘a carnivore with teeth, claws, or tools strong enough to open large mammals and provide the raven with meat’.]][^13] [[We’ve found Neolithic era paintings of ravens (or crows) in Tajo Segura, Cadiz, Spain.]][^14] [[Ravens were kept as pets in Roman Britain.]][^15] ### association with death [[The association of ravens with death was likely formed due to ravens feeding upon corpses, especially during large death-related events such as the plague in fourteenth century Europe.]][^16] ## ravens compared with crows [[Ravens and crows are frequently mixed-up and confused with each other.]][^17] Ravens are generally much larger; ‘ravens soar and glide … crows flap their wings; ravens don’t.’[^18] Ravens and crows have differently shaped beaks (ravens hooked, crows straight), and different tail shapes.[^19] [[Mature ravens make a ‘qwork’ sound, in contrast to the crow’s ‘caw’.]][^20] - see also: [[birds#crows]] [^1]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 5, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^2]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 5, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^3]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 6, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^4]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 7, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^5]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 7, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^6]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 6, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^7]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 7, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^8]: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, ‘Common Raven: Life History’, *All About Birds*, accessed 15 April 2024, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/id. [^9]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 5, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^10]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 5, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^11]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 9, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^12]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 14, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^13]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 9, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^14]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 10, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^15]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 11, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^16]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 14, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^17]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 5, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^18]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 5, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^19]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 5, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>. [^20]: Betty Coon Wainwright, ‘[[Coon Wheelwright, ‘A Storytelling of Ravens’, 2013|A Storytelling of Ravens]]’, *Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2013), p. 5, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/26596516>.