Raven VS Crow: The Battle of The Black Birds!

Find out more about the similarities and differences between the raven and crow in our article:

People often confuse ravens and crows with each other. After all, they do look similar: they are both black birds, with black beaks and feathers. It certainly doesn’t help that most ravens and crows occupy the same areas too.

These similarities aren’t coincidental. Ravens and crows are actually related! Common Ravens and American Crows both come from the Corvidae family. Even if they are related, however, there are certain differences between the two birds that can help even the casual birdwatcher tell them apart.

If you’re interested in learning more about the similarities and differences between ravens and crows, then keep on watching!

0:51 Difference in physical appearance
3:24 Difference in call sounds
4:01 Difference in diet preference
4:57 Difference in behavior
7:12 Habitats of the raven and crow
8:03 Myths and legends of the raven and crow

Don't miss the other AMAZING facts on our website:

[sheiladitexas]

I once stopped at a rest stop in New Mexico on the way to Colorado and there were more than 50 ravens on the ground looking to travelers for food. They were actually very “friendly” and got quite close to people and followed them around. I had a loaf of French Bread and tore it up and shared it amount them. It was amazing… they seemed to take turns. I have only seen this once in my life. I fed them because we were in the desert and seemed to congregate at this rest stop because of the collection of the only trees around. They flew back to the trees when the food was finished. That is the only time I have ever fed ravens. They were beautiful.

[Etymon-jtzw]

There was a story about a young girl who took in a wounded crow who was injured in ice and hailstorm.

She nursed the bird back to health fed and kept him safe until Spring and then set him free.

And the crow would return with little shiny presents for her bottle caps and Buttons things like.

So she would feed him every time he did. After a while the crow started bringing other crows with him and they all brought presents for the girl and she would feed them all.

I wish I could remember her name but it was a long time ago somewhere in Michigan by lake superior. Where the winters can be particularly harsh.

But the little girl and all the crows became good friends. And she became kind of a celebrity in the little town that she lived.

[colinfitzgerald]

We found a young crow on our front doorstep years ago. It was injured so we took him in and fed it ground beef. He quickly recovered. We released him out into the back yard where he promptly flew up into the trees. For about a month after his release, Thor would fly down to join us at the picnic table to share dinner or just sit with us for a few moments. He was never shy and permitted us to touch him. When we returned from a short vacation, Thor was gone. Thor was a true feathered friend.

[rachelhardy]

I love ravens, but since I live in suburbia, I don't see them around.
The crows, however, I have fed and formed a relationship with. Every time I see them, I fall in love with them even more.
I don't believe they are bad omens at all, but rather sacred, intuitive animals that always see things before I do.
If I'm out on a walk, or out anywhere, they somehow know where I'm going to be before I even get there.
It's adorable, fascinating, and it almost freaks me out how accurate they are.
I do believe they can sense energies, and come to you if a loved one on the other side swayed them in that direction.
I wish more people actually took the time to appreciate these majestic corvids!

[phasechange]

Both cool and smart birds.
My dad has a raven that comes into his back yard once and a while and he can hand feed it bread crumbs etc.

[workingmothercatlover]

To me, the raven and the crow are like a pair of identical twins I knew. I hung around them enough to tell them apart.
The trouble with these birds is living where they both are. I don't see either often enough to know the difference. Most of the time, I see them in passing driving down the freeway. Not long enough to take in anything other than big black bird.
At least now, I should be able to tell which it is in the sky.

[LoneLupine]

I love both but have a huge preference/love for ravens since i see them regularly where i live. They're so smart and cute

[mantislake]

I just read an article on Treehugger that said in the U.S. ravens are mostly found on the west coast and sparsely in Appalachia. When I was Maine in 2017, there were ravens everywhere. I'm certainly no expert but live in Michigan where crows are common and noticed right away these birds were bigger and their call was more of a croak than a caw. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch well into Canada, the area commonly referred to as Appalachia is considered to have chosen its northern border somewhere in New York state.

[mellissadalby]

This is really good, thanks for posting it.

[stevoplex]

Ravens have been known to be grim messengers of doom, speaking only one cryptic word "Nevermore ".
Crows, on the other hand don't give a darn. They may say "Never rmind" and fly away and don't torment you.

[georgewashingtoniv]

I feel like Ravens get a lesser rating probably because they get bored easier, or they don't necessarily "showcase" certain things since they are bored from redundancy. Almost like they're saying, "same old, same old. Whats new?" Lol to me, that's super intelligent, or deep wisdom.

[nancyroberson]

I really enjoyed the video you put out for us to enjoy and I truly do appreciate all the effort you have distilled upon us, you rock. Thank you for everything and I hope you can have a great day. ❤

[nyahanan]

In Europe we have two species of crows, the crow with yellow beak which prefer rural areas and crows with a black beaks who live mainly near and in cities. The big ravens prefer not to get to close to human civilizations, so in Germany true ravens are rare more likely to live in remote areas.

[alexschindler]

Thank you for this very helpful information!

[drahtid]

I'm not sure if its a crow or raven, but I always thought the ones with the Purplish color were ravens. Also this is something I'm not 100% sure of, but if trained some ravens could talk even better than parrots.

[ericb]

dude, you narrate that a common raven struts with two footed hops, but you don’t even SHOW it while you are narrating it. so I’m looking for the damn hops but they aren’t HOPPING. sheesh guys

[danreyn]

I once took a vacation in Whitehorse, Yukon. It was there I learned the difference. Here's how to tell if it's a raven or crow: A crow is kinda cool but sometimes annoying. A proper raven is scary beyond all reason. I will never forget the ravens of Whitehorse. Giant birds, like crows the size of turkeys, standing in the snow, staring at you menacingly, with chunks of meat hanging from their beaks. The memory of them makes me shudder, nevermore.

[smyrnasstory]

“Consider the ravens: They neither sow seed nor reap; they have neither barn nor storehouse; yet God feeds them. Are you not worth much more than birds?”

[firstnamelastname-nkut]

Thank you very much for this vid! It was very informative, all-encompassing, & concise! I didn't know the mythology about Apollo! I adore both Crows & Ravens - they're both superb animals in their own right! It is such a pity & tragedy that they (& so many other non-human animals, [black] cats, snakes, bats, goats, even dogs, etc.) get such a bad rep & are subject to human violence & cruelty due to human ignorance & fear expressed via superstition & folklore :(
But with the sharing of information that is science-based - rooted in knowledge & understanding; I hope to see a more rational approach to those different from us, the things we might not fully understand. Vids like this, for example, I think will help :)

[raphlvlogs]

corvid species are diverse but can they hybridise with each others?