Difference Between Crow and Raven
Ever since our childhood, there is one bird that one cannot afford to miss. It is a bird that lives amidst human beings and is found in areas where people live. It is no doubt the black crow. Crows may not be treated as household birds, such as other tame birds; still its presence all around is unmistakable. The crow is a familiar sight in our surroundings with its raucous caws.
It is rather difficult to distinguish a crow from a raven since they both appear alike from their physical appearance and color. However, there are notable differences between both these species of birds despite their black color. It would be of interest to note that a crow can be a raven, yet a raven cannot be classified as a crow. The crow belongs to the Corvidae family of birds and magpies, jays and ravens belong to the same species. Even among the crows and ravens, there is a large variety of these birds. It is our effort to remove any of the confusion that may be present in the minds of the readers in differentiating between a crow and a raven.
If you have closely heard the sound of a crow, it is a caw. A raven gives out a croaking sound like a frog. A crow bears a relatively small sized bill as compared to a raven which also has a shaggy throat. Whenever you see both these birds in flight, you would notice that a raven performs somersaults while a crow never even attempts to do so. The bill of a crow has a curve pointing downwards whereas the bill of the raven is straight and runs parallel.
One can clearly observe the behavioral pattern of both these birds which bears the differences between each other. It is normal for a crow to go searching for food in groups; however, a raven always goes out hunting for food alone. A raven could be termed as a scavenger who follows predators and feeds on the leftovers of the dead corpses. A crow on the other hand swoops down on ground level and lifts off food from garbage. Generally crows can be seen on the electrical wires of poles, or on top of buildings, in gardens, roads and other places and is a familiar sight since it does show fear from human beings. A crow is a sworn enemy of farmers since they are ill-reputed for ruining
crops in fields. A raven shies away from human beings are hardly ever seen in the fields but are only found in the hills and woods.
There is a marked difference in the physical appearance of the crow and raven. A raven is a larger bird when compared to a crow which bears a small size. They both may be black in color, yet there is a difference in their feathers. A raven’s feathers are glossy and bear a tint of purple when seen in bright sunlight while crows have jet black feathers. The tail of a crow is square shaped while a raven has a triangular shaped tail. The longevity of the crow is far less than the raven. A crow lives for 8 years while a raven survives for 30 years. The wingspan of a raven measures around 33 to 39 inches due to its large size whereas a crow’s wingspan is between 17 to 21 inches. Similarly the weight of a raven is between 24 to 57 ounces as compared to the crow weighing between 11 to 21 inches. With these differences in sight, it should not be difficult to recognize a raven from a crow.