crows vs ravens
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Anonymous
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I've been driving the chain bridge lately and have seen some large black birds that almost seem too large for a crow, but I'm not sure they are ravens. Anyone familiar with birds and have noted ravens along the chain bridge? (perched on the light posts or fencing, or flying along the river.
After west Nile virus, it seems like our crow numbers just dropped a lot, so I don't see as many crows (and that was what, more than a decade ago?). But I'm not sure I ever see wild ravens. Anyone see ravens frequently in the DMV area? Where? Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I've ever seen one in the wild. I like looking at water birds, trying to branch out into other types of birds. |
Anonymous
| Crows (pigeon-sized) are much smaller than ravens (hawk-sized). Ravens are all over around here. Grackles easier to confuse with crows than ravens, although I don't know how common they are here. |
Anonymous
| There are a bunch or Crows in AU Park. |
Anonymous
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The first clue to look for is how many? Ravens tend to travel in pairs while crows travel in large groups (called murders).
Other than that, crows are smaller and more sleek looking, while ravens are much bigger (45 inch wingspan) and kind of fluffy scruffy. In flight, if you see the tail, a crow is more even and spreads like a fan, while the raven has different lengths of tail feathers that are more triangular or diamond shaped. While they make many different sounds, generally you will hear the caw caw of a crow, while the raven has a raspy croak. |
Anonymous
Yes, normally when driving (or inching as the case may be) over the chain bridge I am peering down at the water looking for herons and egrets. I've seen plenty of black birds but just always assumed crow, without focusing on them. Yesterday it just happened that a very large black bird alighted on the fence right by my car, and I thought wow that is a big crow. Wow, wait, that is a REALLY big crow (easily hawk size), could it possibly be a raven? And then I watched some videos and googled a bit. Just thought I'd check here to see if anyone knows for sure that ravens hang out by the chain bridge. It may be that ravens are "all over," but I am looking for some confirmed specifics to start me off - I live in the city and do not think I have ever seen a raven (but I could be wrong). |
Anonymous
A "bunch" of crows is a "murder" 
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Anonymous
| Take a look at the tail shape. A RaVen has a V shaped tail and a crow has a U shaped tail. I don’t see many Ravens in this area. |
Anonymous
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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 if someone gently rapping, Rapping at my chamber door. Had to memorize that in elementary school. Sorry, I haven’t been on Chain Bridge recently. |
Anonymous
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I love you guys
- a birder |
Anonymous
AHA AHA!! So ravens aren't here "all over" - this article from the post rom 2016 says a pair of birds nested in DC for the first time in 100 years! I bet that bridge is the Chain bridge. This is OP, btw. I kept googling and found a site specific to DC that includes pictures of ravens on the chain bridge (from 2016/17). So yeah, I'm feeling more confident that my less than 3 second glimpse was indeed a raven, and I will be paying more attention now - not just looking down at water but paying more attention to the bridge itself and the sky. https://ebird.org/species/comrav/US-DC-001 I miss birding, and since we don't seem to be leaving DC anytime soon have decided I need to get more active birding around here. |
Anonymous
| Sounds like you saw a Black Vulture, not a Raven. Black Vultures are extremely common around here thanks to all the roadkilled deer. |
Anonymous
But dusky head and different kind of beak, right? Ok looked it up. A raven is a crow, a crow is not necessarily a raven. There mare many crow species and apparently more than one raven species. Was the bird crowing over himself or just raven? (hehehe) American Crow -- ave 16 to 20 in, males are bigger Common Raven --ave 25 in |
Anonymous
| Crows aren’t pigeon sized. They’re much closer to what you probably consider hawk size. We have almost entirely crows around here. I love them. I want to befriend one. |
Anonymous
Not sure where you live, but the Audubon Naturalist Society in Kensington, MD, has good free or cheap bird walks for beginning and intermediate birders. Their website is a little obscure, but look under Education / adults. |