this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2025
206 points (99.5% liked)

Bird-Watching and Ornithology

526 readers
1 users here now

Mainly birdwatching pix and ID help; please post approximate location (country/region/at least give us a continent!) - moderators needed (eventually?)

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 24 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] TheBlackLounge@lemmy.zip 36 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If you think it's a raven, it's a crow. If you think it's a cat, it's a raven.

[–] Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

pretty sure people don't usually confuse cats with ravens...but people are pretty stupid so I won't dismiss this myself.

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

At a distance, it's totally possible. Ravens are huge.

[–] Redfox8@mander.xyz 27 points 2 months ago

Mmm most points are valid but...Rooks and Jackdaws are nearly always in groups, but Carrion Crows are often alone. I assume they don't mean Magpies, Jays & Hooded Crows as they look distinctly different, but there's also Choughs to consider re all black crows, and possibly others I'm not familiar with outside of the UK.

[–] OlPatchy2Eyes@slrpnk.net 19 points 2 months ago (1 children)

How the heck am I to tell the lifespan of a bird by looking at it?

[–] Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Look at their eyes, it will have the wise look of having dealt with humans for far too long.

[–] baguettefish@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 months ago

doesn't sound that wise to me

[–] unwillingsomnambulist@midwest.social 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Aren’t ravens also the size of red-tailed hawks, while crows are closer to (but still noticeably larger than) pigeons in size? It’s been a bit since I’ve seen them side-by-side.

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

the size of crows varies regionally. east coast crows in north america are considerably larger than west coast crows. further east coast crows are dispersed further into rural areas

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 months ago

Here in my “suburban” mid Atlantic yard I have crows and owls battling it out for supremacy while the ravens steal the food those two are fighting for.

[–] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago

Ravens live in urban environments too.

[–] Gustephan@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

Imagine not being visually distinct from other corvids LMAO

[–] frankenswine@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Travel in groups

this depends on species and relationship status

[–] ArachnidMania@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Also age. For ravens, the younger ones will usually find a small gang to socialize before full maturity, not always pairs.

[–] m0darn@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 months ago

Ravens sound like a person imitating a crow.

[–] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

Here's the thing...

[–] perestroika@slrpnk.net 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

In my local language, telling them apart is easy. You listen. If it says "gronk gronk", you call it "ronk". :)

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Must have been a pair of ravens walking across my yard yesterday. There were so huge I had to stop and stare.

[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Damn, i thought the right is either a male or an old crow.

[–] vikingtons@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago

I've seen crows travel in pairs too... At least I think they're crows? I don't know if we get many ravens in the south east of England but they have a flat bill and such

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I also believe Crows walk while Ravens are more “hoppers”

[–] Cenotaph@mander.xyz 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Depends how fast they're trying to go. If they gotta move quicker on the ground my city crows like to hop a lot

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 months ago

I think I might have reversed it, with crows being the hoppers and ravens being walkers

[–] Hupf@feddit.org 2 points 2 months ago

!corvids@sopuli.xyz