Common Raven

Here's a bird I see moderately often, hear more often than that, but of which rarely get an identifiable picture, a Common Raven. This is partly because they don't photograph particularly well; in some light I don't end up with much more than a silhouette. And it's partly because the differences between our ravens and our crows (American or Fish) are fairly subtle. Social media has a lot of pictures of crows where the photographer was hoping to have gotten a raven picture. (Sometimes these lead to heated crow-versus-raven debates, similar to those of other look-alike birds.)

The overall size, relative beak size, and a hairier beak are the best clues in telling ravens from crows. If they were side-by-side, size alone would distinguish the 2 pretty easily, but usually crows perceive ravens as threats and will try and drive them away. When I've seen them together the crows are either driving a raven away in an aerial battle or they're scolding the raven vociferously with their cawing (usually in a treetop).

Birders like to joke that the difference between a crow and a raven is that:

  • A crow is a bird with a beak.
  • A raven is a beak with a bird.

Despite the poem, if you really want to "quote the raven" you'd probably be making rough croaking noises, one of the louder and more distinctive bird vocalizations. Of course, vocalizations don't make a picture any more identifiable. Still, the croaking is probably why I made a point of trying to photograph the individual below.

November 26, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 251085225, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tussock Moth Herd

Image
Some caterpillars are usually seen in large numbers (like Armyworm Moth caterpillars and Eastern Tent Caterpillars ), while most are more solitary. The Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars (more about them are here ) seem to be slightly social. I'll sometimes see them alone, but more often I'll see them in groups of 2-9 members. In the 1st picture below, you can see there is a clear size difference in some of these individuals. I'm almost certain the little one in the middle is in an earlier instar than the others (though they lack the colorful tufts of fuzz in their earliest instars). August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477945, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) In the picture below, it's clear that these caterpillars don't require a lot of personal space. August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477979, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Copper Underwing Caterpillar

Image
I believe this caterpillar to be a Copper Underwing [1]. At least the coloring and the dorsal hump (near the left end of the caterpillar) seem consistent with the Copper Underwing. These caterpillars are not what you'd consider picky eaters; my Caterpillars of Eastern North America describes their diet thusly: Many wooded plants including apple, basswood, blueberry, cherry chestnut, current, grape, greenbrier, hawthorn, hickory, lilac, maple, oak, poplar, raspberry, rhododendron, viburnum, Virginia creeper, and walnut. Wikipedia adds: Ash, privet, honeysuckle, rose, and service trees. That's a pretty wide range of trees and shrubs. One of the challenges of finding them is that they could be almost anywhere; the other challenges are: Their green coloring blends in pretty darned well with the average leaf. They have a habit of feeding underneath leaves, so they're probably not visible when looking down at their location. They have a tendency to move from leaf-to-leaf; if you
Read more

Eastern Pondhawks

Image
I'm going to try something different today with my Eastern Pondhawk pictures. I'm going to let ChatGPT do my blog today. (ChatGPT is an AI program that you can converse with in a pretty human way; an explanation of it is here .) Me:  Can you tell me something interesting about the Eastern Pondhawk? ChatGPT:  The Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) is a dragonfly species that is native to North America. It is a medium-sized dragonfly, with a wingspan of about 3 inches, and can be found in a variety of habitats, including wetlands, marshes, and ponds. One interesting characteristic of the Eastern Pondhawk is its mating behavior. Male Eastern Pondhawks are known for their territorial behavior and will defend their territory from other males. They will patrol their territory and will try to mate with any females that fly into their territory. Another interesting fact about the Eastern Pondhawk is that it is a fast flyer and is able to hover in midair. It is also an import
Read more