Game! Scrabble Solitaire II - Five Letters
- Thread starter Luckytrim
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Luckytrim
Grill Master
Many people use the terms 'raven' and 'crow' interchangeably, but they are actually quite different. Technically, since ravens belong to the crow (corvus) family of birds, they can be called crows - but not all crows are ravens. The two differ in a variety of ways.
Size
First, and most noticeably, ravens are larger than crows. They are (on average) about the size of a hawk, where crows are approximately the size of a pigeon.
Call
If you're familiar with the call which crows make, you'd probably recognize the raven's call as being different. Crows have a more nasal, higher pitched call, where a raven's call is lower, and hoarser... almost a croaking sound. I've frequently been approached by people saying "I heard this really funny-sounding crow the other day..." and when I ask "Was it a really big crow?" the answer has almost invariably been yes. In which case, chances are pretty good that it wasn't a crow at all, but a raven.
If you want to hear the difference for yourself, click here for a raven's call and crow's call.
Tail feathers
Crows have a very fan-shaped tail, where raven's tails have more of a wedge-shape to them. This isn't very easy to tell if the bird is sitting on the ground, but when flying overhead, you can often get a good look at the shape of the tail.
Feather shape
Ravens' feathers are also a slightly different shape than crows' feathers. Crow feathers tend to be more rounded at the tip, while ravens have feathers which are slightly pointed. This is most noticeable on the breast feathers, especially when the bird fluffs itself up. The feathers on the crow's breast lie comfortably against eachother and provide a nice, even, rounded covering. The feathers on a raven lie a little more jaggedly, and when a raven fluffs up, its breast tends to look ragged. In fact, when a raven really fluffs up and all its feathers look like they're standing on end, the raven appears to have a short fluffy mane (called a 'ruff').
Habitat
Ravens and crows can often be found living side by side in the same areas, but where there's a choice, Ravens prefer wilder areas while crows will live quite close to cities. The bigger the city, the less likely ravens will make it their home -- and when they do, they tend to live in or near parks and natural spaces. Crows, on the other hand, are more likely to live near buildings, and will venture farther into human developments to compete for food.
There are more differences between crows and ravens, including their social habits and life span (ravens live longer), but these are the key points. They should help you determine whether the bird you're looking at is a raven or just a very large crow.
Size
First, and most noticeably, ravens are larger than crows. They are (on average) about the size of a hawk, where crows are approximately the size of a pigeon.
Call
If you're familiar with the call which crows make, you'd probably recognize the raven's call as being different. Crows have a more nasal, higher pitched call, where a raven's call is lower, and hoarser... almost a croaking sound. I've frequently been approached by people saying "I heard this really funny-sounding crow the other day..." and when I ask "Was it a really big crow?" the answer has almost invariably been yes. In which case, chances are pretty good that it wasn't a crow at all, but a raven.
If you want to hear the difference for yourself, click here for a raven's call and crow's call.
Tail feathers
Crows have a very fan-shaped tail, where raven's tails have more of a wedge-shape to them. This isn't very easy to tell if the bird is sitting on the ground, but when flying overhead, you can often get a good look at the shape of the tail.
Feather shape
Ravens' feathers are also a slightly different shape than crows' feathers. Crow feathers tend to be more rounded at the tip, while ravens have feathers which are slightly pointed. This is most noticeable on the breast feathers, especially when the bird fluffs itself up. The feathers on the crow's breast lie comfortably against eachother and provide a nice, even, rounded covering. The feathers on a raven lie a little more jaggedly, and when a raven fluffs up, its breast tends to look ragged. In fact, when a raven really fluffs up and all its feathers look like they're standing on end, the raven appears to have a short fluffy mane (called a 'ruff').
Habitat
Ravens and crows can often be found living side by side in the same areas, but where there's a choice, Ravens prefer wilder areas while crows will live quite close to cities. The bigger the city, the less likely ravens will make it their home -- and when they do, they tend to live in or near parks and natural spaces. Crows, on the other hand, are more likely to live near buildings, and will venture farther into human developments to compete for food.
There are more differences between crows and ravens, including their social habits and life span (ravens live longer), but these are the key points. They should help you determine whether the bird you're looking at is a raven or just a very large crow.
Ian M.
New member
Thanks, LT, for one of the most interesting posts I've ever read here or anywhere. The only time I've ever seen ravens that I knew for sure what they were was on trips made to the Tower of London when I was a kid. The Tower keeps a number of them that are cared for by the "Beefeaters" who are the security and guides at the Tower. These ravens are pretty much wild and are free to fly wherever they wish to go but seldom leave their home at the Tower for their lifetimes. When I was a little kid I used to believe that the basic difference between a raven and a crow was that the crow had a far greater verbal ability to say "Nevermore" but that the raven was reputed to have actually said it - that was according to my Mum and Edgar Allen Poe, anyway.
Just an observation, but you have the most incredible ability to recall facts that most people would not normally even know. You're like a walking encyclopedia. I can only surmise that you're a voracious reader and have a photographic memory for the things you read. Amazing and I have the greatest admiration and respect for people who can do that. Half the time I have to look at a recipe every couple of minutes when I'm cooking because I don't seem to have the ability to remember what I read. On occasion, the results are - let's just call them "amazing". And just while we're on the subject of ravens, crows and the like, is a "rook" also a raven or a totally different bird? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's a chess piece, too.
Ian
Just an observation, but you have the most incredible ability to recall facts that most people would not normally even know. You're like a walking encyclopedia. I can only surmise that you're a voracious reader and have a photographic memory for the things you read. Amazing and I have the greatest admiration and respect for people who can do that. Half the time I have to look at a recipe every couple of minutes when I'm cooking because I don't seem to have the ability to remember what I read. On occasion, the results are - let's just call them "amazing". And just while we're on the subject of ravens, crows and the like, is a "rook" also a raven or a totally different bird? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's a chess piece, too.
Ian
Luckytrim
Grill Master
As we've covered , ravens are "crows" but not all crows are ravens........(you can put a boat on a ship, but you can’t put a ship on a boat....that sort of difference.) this holds true for the rook as well.......
Rooks are distinguished from other members of the crow family by the bare grey-white skin around the base of the adult's bill in front of the eyes. The feathering around the legs also looks shaggier and scruffier than the generic Crow.
Rooks are much more social than most crows in their communal nesting habits, thus the term “rookery”.
THX, Ian, but I am not a great “rememberer”, but rather a trivia nut who researches well.
(BTW – the memory is the second thing to go....)
naval -avail
Rooks are distinguished from other members of the crow family by the bare grey-white skin around the base of the adult's bill in front of the eyes. The feathering around the legs also looks shaggier and scruffier than the generic Crow.
Rooks are much more social than most crows in their communal nesting habits, thus the term “rookery”.
THX, Ian, but I am not a great “rememberer”, but rather a trivia nut who researches well.
(BTW – the memory is the second thing to go....)
naval -avail
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Ian M.
New member
Wow, LT, I'm truly totally gobsmacked by your grasp of all things trivia!
Now I've got to go find a crow, a raven and a rook and see if I can get photographs of them. No big, but something I'd love for Kieran to know about one day. Incidently, you can definitely put a boat on a ship - but also and as well, you can put a ship in a bottle.......................
avail - anvil
Ian
Now I've got to go find a crow, a raven and a rook and see if I can get photographs of them. No big, but something I'd love for Kieran to know about one day. Incidently, you can definitely put a boat on a ship - but also and as well, you can put a ship in a bottle.......................
avail - anvil
Ian
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