Common Raven

By David Bellangue
Plant & Systems Research Technician & Conservation Nursery Manager
Piedmont Discovery Center  

Common Raven
Corvus corax
Corvidae (Crow Family or Corvids)

Distinguishing Features/Description

The common raven is a large, all-black bird with a shaggy throat and wedge-shaped tail; often found singly, in small flocks of young birds, or in mated pairs. The raven is not to be confused with the American crow, which is smaller in all regards, lacks the shaggy throat and wedge-shaped tail, and is much more gregarious, often appearing in small to large flocks. 

Distribution and Habitat

The most widely distributed member of the Corvidae family (which also includes crows, jays, and magpies), the common raven can be found across the Northern Hemisphere in a broad range of habitats, from urban areas to high mountains; from Arctic tundra to forests, grasslands, and deserts. They favor hilly to mountainous terrain for better thermal drafts for foraging and cliff sites for nesting. Despite their name, they have become uncommon in Virginia and eastern North America as a whole due to habitat loss and hunting in the early 1900s, though their range is slowly expanding again, especially in the Appalachian mountains and adjacent regions. 

Ecology & Life History

Ravens are the largest of the passerine birds (perching or songbirds), comparable in size to some birds of prey like the peregrine falcon. Their genus name Corvus comes from the Latin word for raven, and their species name corax comes from the Latinized Greek word for raven or crow. 

Owing to their intelligence and adaptability, ravens are omnivorous, eating almost anything, with a preference for animal matter. Their diet includes carrion, insects, rodents, lizards, frogs, eggs, and smaller birds, as well as pet food and garbage. Ravens nest once a year, laying 3–7 greenish speckled eggs in deep, bulky nests built in a variety of places including cliffs, rock quarries, isolated trees and human made structures like billboards, abandoned buildings, and bridges. Nests may be reused from year to year. Incubation lasts 18–21 days, with young leaving the nest 5–6 weeks after hatching. 

 Intelligence & Cultural Significance

It has long been known that ravens are among the smartest of all birds, with cognitive feats comparable to humans and great apes. One of the more fascinating aspects of their high intelligence is their foresight. One study observed ravens planning for future events, collecting “boring” rocks and tokens in anticipation of later use to obtain food either through bartering with the researchers or using the rocks to open treat boxes. Ravens can also remember faces and interactions. A group in Austria found that ravens preferred researchers who treated them fairly in a barter game for a piece of cheese over those who refused to relinquish the cheese, and they could remember the faces of the ‘unfair’ researchers for over a month.    

Ravens’ intelligence combined with their bold and playful nature has caught the interest of humans for thousands of years. Their striking qualities and long association with humans have spawned a plethora of myths and beliefs, ranging from ravens as bad omens, to trusted messengers and knowledge bringers, to trickster gods essential to the creation of the world. 

One of the most famous depictions of a common raven in literature is “The Raven” by American poet Edgar Allen Poe. Poe, who briefly attended the University of Virginia in 1826, wrote,    

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
            Only this and nothing more.”

. . .

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.” 

Works Cited

Boarman, W., & Heinrich, B. (1999). Common raven (Corvus corax). In A. Poole & F. Gill (Eds.), The Birds of North America, No. 476 (pp. 1–31). The Birds Of North America Inc. 

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2017). Common Raven Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Allaboutbirds.org. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/overview

Hackworth, Z. J., Cox, J. J., Felch, J. M., & Weegman, M. D. (2019). A Growing Conspiracy: Recolonization of Common Ravens (Corvus corax) in Central and Southern Appalachia, USA. Southeastern Naturalist, 18(2), 281. https://doi.org/10.1656/058.018.0208 

Kabadayi, C., & Osvath, M. (2017). Ravens parallel great apes in flexible planning for tool-use and bartering. Science, 357(6347), 202–204. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam8138 

Kaufman, K. (2019, March 21). Common Raven. Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/common-raven

Müller, J. J. A., Massen, J. J. M., Bugnyar, T., & Osvath, M. (2017). Ravens remember the nature of a single reciprocal interaction sequence over 2 days and even after a month. Animal Behaviour, 128, 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.04.004

Poe, E. A. (1845, January 29). The Raven. Poetry Foundation; Wiley and Putnam. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven

Sibley, D. (2003). Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (pp. 286–288). Alfred A. Knopf.

Team eBird. (2011, March 22). Identification Pitfalls–Crows and Ravens. Ebird. https://ebird.org/news/crows_and_ravens/

Visalli, G., & Cassidy, J. (Eds.). (1990). Book of North American Birds. (p. 70). Reader’s Digest.