A raven is any of several large-bodied

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

species in the genus ''

Corvus ''Corvus'' is a widely distributed genus of passerine birds ranging from medium-sized to large-sized in the family Corvidae. It includes species commonly known as crows, ravens, and rooks. The species commonly encountered in Europe are the car ...

''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

s and ravens; the two names are assigned to different species chiefly by size. The largest raven species are the

common raven The common raven or northern raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all Corvidae, corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. There are 11 accepted subspecies with little variatio ...

and the

thick-billed raven The thick-billed raven (''Corvus crassirostris''), a corvid from the Horn of Africa, shares with the common raven the distinction of being the largest bird in the corvid family. The thick-billed raven averages in length, with a range of and we ...

; these are also the largest passerine species.

Etymology

The term ''raven'' originally referred to the

(''Corvus corax''), the widespread species of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

. The modern English word ''raven'' has cognates in all other

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...

, including

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

(and subsequently

modern Icelandic Icelandic ( ; , ) is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Since it is a West Scandinavian language, it ...

) and

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

, all of which descend from

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic languages, Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from ...

Collective nouns In linguistics, a collective noun is a word referring to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are not specific to one kind of thing. For example, the collective noun "group" can be applied to people (" ...

for a group of ravens include a "conspiracy", a "treachery", a "rave" and an "unkindness"; in practice, most people use the more generic "flock".

Extant species

* ''Corvus albicollis'' – White-necked raven (eastern and southern Africa) * ''Corvus corax'' –

Common raven The common raven or northern raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all Corvidae, corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. There are 11 accepted subspecies with little variatio ...

(Northern Hemisphere) * ''Corvus coronoides'' –

Australian raven The Australian raven (''Corvus coronoides'') is a passerine Corvidae, corvid bird native to Australia. Measuring in length, it has an all-black plumage, beak and mouth, as well as strong, greyish-black legs and feet. The upperparts of its body ...

(Australia) * ''Corvus crassirostris'' –

Thick-billed raven The thick-billed raven (''Corvus crassirostris''), a corvid from the Horn of Africa, shares with the common raven the distinction of being the largest bird in the corvid family. The thick-billed raven averages in length, with a range of and we ...

(Horn of Africa) * ''Corvus cryptoleucus'' –

Chihuahuan raven The Chihuahuan raven (''Corvus cryptoleucus'') is a species in the family Corvidae that is native to the United States and Mexico. Description The proportions resemble the common raven with a heavy bill, but is about the same size as a carrion ...

(United States and Mexico) * ''Corvus edithae'' –

Dwarf raven The Somali crow, or dwarf raven (''Corvus edithae''), is approximately the size (44–46 cm in length) of the carrion crow, ''Corvus corone'' but with a longer bill and a somewhat more brownish cast to the feathers, especially when worn. D ...

(Horn of Africa) * ''Corvus mellori'' –

Little raven The little raven (''Corvus mellori'') is a species of the family Corvidae that is native to southeastern Australia. An adult individual is about in length, with completely black plumage, beak, and legs; as with all Australian species of ''Corv ...

(southeastern Australia) * ''Corvus rhipidurus'' –

Fan-tailed raven The fan-tailed raven (''Corvus rhipidurus'') is a passerine bird of the Corvidae, crow family native to Eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Description The fan-tailed raven is completely black including bill, legs and feet and the plumage ...

(eastern Africa and Arabian peninsula) * ''Corvus ruficollis'' –

Brown-necked raven The brown-necked raven (''Corvus ruficollis'') is a larger bird (52–56 cm in length) than the carrion crow though not as large as the common raven. It has similar proportions to the common raven but the bill is not so large or deep and t ...

(northern Africa, Arabian peninsula, greater Middle East) * ''Corvus tasmanicus'' –

Forest raven The forest raven (''Corvus tasmanicus''), also commonly known as the Tasmanian raven, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae native to Tasmania and parts of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, such as Wilsons Promontory and Portland, ...

(Tasmania, southern Victoria and north-east New South Wales in Australia)

Extinct species and morphs

* †''Corvus moriorum'' –

Chatham raven Chatham may refer to: Jurisdictions * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswick, Canada (1973–1994) * Chatham (UK Parliament constituency), existed 1832–1950 * Chatham (ward), in the London Borough of Hackney (1965–2014) Military * ...

* †''Corvus antipodum'' – New Zealand raven * †''Corvus corax varius'' morpha ''leucophaeus'' – Pied raven (extinct morph of common raven)

Gallery

File:Towerrabe.png,

File:Corvus cryptoleucus Arizona 2.jpg,

File:Fan-tailed raven.jpg,

File:Australian Raven Sydney University.jpg,

File:Ravaged Raven in Flight.jpg, A raven with a damaged wing. It can still fly with ease. File:2009-white-necked-raven.jpg, White-necked raven File:Flickr - don macauley - Corvus crassirostris Cropped.jpg,

References

External links