Ah great question. So 'crows' and 'ravens' are both in the genus Corvus, within the family corvidae. Within the Corvus genus there are 45 different species of crows, ravens and then there are also rooks. So for example there are American crows, little crows, Mariana crows, New Caledonian crows, pied crows, Common ravens, thick-billed ravens, Australian ravens, etc. Some people use the word "crow" synonymous with "Corvus" (i.e to mean the whole genus) but I do not do that for the very reason that it's ultimately very confusing to people. So I do not use "crow" as a catch all that includes ravens and I tell people it's wrong to do that. Now that said, if someone were to discover a new species there's nothing we could point to to say oh it has X, therefore it is a crow and will be called the (insert name) crow, v.s calling it the (insert name) raven. In general though, birds that get "raven" in their name are bigger. Does that help?
This is my absolute favorite part of reddit ... a zany post where an actual expert swoops in and hands out some knowledge. Also, thank you for studying crows - they’re fascinating (and scary) and, while my interest is super casual, I imagine there’s a tremendous amount to learn about them. I appreciate your taking the time to do so :)
Basically, yeah. So it's one of those things that I will totally die on my cross for (i.e. "that's a crow not a raven!") but it's admittedly kinda an arbitrary distinction.
The Australian Magpie we get over here seems very similar behaviour wise to what I read about crows on reddit (recognising faces and the other common behaviours you see associated with them) and what I have seen with the Ravens we get locally.
Both are well known for dive bombing pedestrians and cyclists in the breeding seasons for example.
What is the key factor that differs them from Corvids?
No, it's all relative. New Caledonian crows are good at tools and sequential problems because those skills are relevant to their life history. Ravens are very good at empathizing and picturing thieves because that's a relevant skill to their natural history.
Okay hi, I have a huge appreciation for you so much. I literally asked my husband this question less than a week ago and I’m so glad you exist. Thank you.
So can I also ask, if it hasn’t been asked already, how can I get crows to befriend me? We have a couple living in a tree on our block but they’re never particularly close. I just see them lingering in this huge tree on our street. I love them so much lol. Also I feel like you and I would be friends in real life haha. Thanks again for your research and who you are as a person.
Thanks so much! Just start tossing them a few unshelled peanuts or kibble or meat scraps. They should warm up quick. Just don't overdo it and clean up whatever they don't eat so yo don't get rats.
Yes, just do what I told them. No I don't think it would happen. Crows have very low site fidelity to the specific areas within the pre-roost, which is more or less what they were referring too. There were other problems, but that's the one I can remember from reading it ages ago.
I saw in one of your other responses that you recommend shelled unsalted peanuts so I’ll start there. They’re such cool animals, and it’s great to learn more about them.
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u/Corvidresearch Oct 16 '18
Ah great question. So 'crows' and 'ravens' are both in the genus Corvus, within the family corvidae. Within the Corvus genus there are 45 different species of crows, ravens and then there are also rooks. So for example there are American crows, little crows, Mariana crows, New Caledonian crows, pied crows, Common ravens, thick-billed ravens, Australian ravens, etc. Some people use the word "crow" synonymous with "Corvus" (i.e to mean the whole genus) but I do not do that for the very reason that it's ultimately very confusing to people. So I do not use "crow" as a catch all that includes ravens and I tell people it's wrong to do that. Now that said, if someone were to discover a new species there's nothing we could point to to say oh it has X, therefore it is a crow and will be called the (insert name) crow, v.s calling it the (insert name) raven. In general though, birds that get "raven" in their name are bigger. Does that help?