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{{Short description|Collection of birds with the same common name}}
[[nl:Raaf (dier)]][[sv:Korp]]
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
[[File:3782 Common Raven in flight.jpg|thumb|right|Common raven of North America (''Corvus corax principalis'') in flight]]
A '''raven''' is any of several larger-bodied [[passerine]] [[bird]] species in the genus ''[[Corvus]]''. These species do not form a single [[Taxon|taxonomic group]] within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between [[crow]]s and ravens; the two names are assigned to different species chiefly based on their size.


The largest raven species are the [[common raven]] and the [[thick-billed raven]]; these are also the largest passerine species.
Many large black birds of the genus ''[[Corvus (biology)|Corvus]]'' are called '''ravens'''. Other birds in the same [[genus (biology)|genus]] are the smaller [[crow]]s, [[jackdaw]]s, and [[Rook (bird)|Rook]].


==Etymology==
Raven species include:
The term ''raven'' originally referred to the [[common raven]] (''Corvus corax''), the [[type species]] of the genus ''Corvus'', which has a larger distribution than any other species of ''Corvus'', ranging over much of the [[Northern Hemisphere]].
*the Common Raven (''C. corax''), detailed below;
*the [[Australian Raven]] (''C. coronoides'');
*the [[Forest Raven]] (''C. tasmanicus'');
*the [[Little Raven]] (''C. mellori'');
*the [[Thick-billed Raven]] (''C. crassirostris'');
*the [[White-necked Raven]] (''C. albicollis'');
*the [[Brown-necked Raven]] (''C. ruficollis'') and
*the [[Chihuahuan Raven]] (''C. cryptoleucos'').


The modern English word ''raven'' has cognates in all other [[Germanic languages]], including [[Old Norse]] (and subsequently [[Icelandic language|modern Icelandic]]) {{lang|non|hrafn}}<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'' entry for "raven".</ref> and [[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|(h)Raban}},<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Raven |encyclopedia=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |editor=Simpson, J. |editor2=Weiner, E. |year=1989 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |isbn= 0-19-861186-2 }}</ref> all of which descend from [[Proto-Germanic]] {{lang|gem-x-proto|*hrabanaz}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Raven |work=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]] |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=raven |access-date=14 May 2007 }}</ref>
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" align="right" cellpading="2">
<tr><th align="center" bgcolor=pink>'''Raven'''</th></tr>
<tr><td>[[Image:Raven3.jpg]]<br></td></tr>
<tr><th align="center" bgcolor=pink>'''[[Scientific classification]]'''</th></tr>
<tr><td><table align="center">
<tr><td>[[Kingdom (biology)|Kingdom]]:</td><td>[[Animal]]ia </td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Phylum (biology)|Phylum]]: </td><td>[[Chordate|Chordata]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Class (biology)|Class]]:</td><td>[[Aves]]</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Order (biology)|Order]]: </td><td>[[Passeriformes]] </td></tr>
<tr><td>[[Family (biology)|Family]]: </td><td>[[Corvidae]] </td></tr>
<tr><td>'''[[Genus]]''':</td><td>''Corvus]''</td></tr>
</table>
</td></tr><tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor=pink>'''[[Binomial name]]'''</th></tr>
<tr><td>
'''''Corvus corax'''''
</td></tr></table>


One [[collective noun]] for a group of ravens is "unkindness";<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lipton |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AVNazQEACAAJ |title=An Exaltation of Larks |date=1991 |publisher=[[Viking Press]] |isbn=978-0-670-30044-0 |language=en}}</ref> in practice, most people use the more generic "flock".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=flock+of+ravens,unkindness+of+ravens,treachery+of+ravens,conspiracy+of+ravens&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cflock%20of%20ravens%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cunkindness%20of%20ravens%3B%2Cc0t1;,flock%20of%20ravens;,c0;.t1;,unkindness%20of%20ravens;,c0 |title=flock of ravens, unkindness of ravens, treachery of ravens, conspiracy of ravens |work=[[Google Books Ngram Viewer]] |access-date=2020-01-05 }}</ref>
'''Raven''' may also refer specifically to the '''Common Raven''' (''[[Corvus (biology)|Corvus]] corax)''. Common Ravens are large black birds with iridescent [[feather]]s. The [[beak|bill]] is curved. At maturity, they are between 60 and 78cm (24 to 27 inches) in length, with [[wing]]s that are double that.


==Extant species==
Apart from their greater size, Ravens differ from their cousins the [[crow]]s by having larger and heavier beaks, and with a deeper and more varied caw. Other field points are the thick throat and wedge-shaped tail.
{{seealso|List of Corvus species}}
* ''Corvus albicollis'' – [[White-necked raven]] (eastern and southern Africa)
* ''Corvus corax'' – [[Common raven]] (Northern Hemisphere)
* ''Corvus coronoides'' – [[Australian raven]] (Australia)
* ''Corvus crassirostris'' – [[Thick-billed raven]] (Horn of Africa)
* ''Corvus cryptoleucus'' – [[Chihuahuan raven]] (United States and Mexico)
* ''Corvus mellori'' – [[Little raven]] (southeastern Australia)
* ''Corvus rhipidurus'' – [[Fan-tailed raven]] (eastern Africa and Arabian peninsula)
* ''Corvus ruficollis'' – [[Brown-necked raven]] (northern Africa, Arabian peninsula, greater Middle East)
* ''Corvus tasmanicus'' – [[Forest raven]] (Tasmania, southern Victoria and north-east New South Wales in Australia)


==Extinct species and morphs==
Ravens can thrive in varied climates. They range from the [[Arctic]] to the deserts of [[North Africa]], and to islands in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. Most ravens prefer wooded areas near coasts and in mountains for their nesting sites.
* †''Corvus moriorum'' – [[Chatham raven]]
* †''Corvus antipodum'' – [[New Zealand raven]]
* †''Corvus corax varius'' morpha ''leucophaeus'' – [[Pied raven]] (extinct morph of common raven)


==Gallery==
Mated ravens tend to nest together for life. The pair will build a nest on cliff ledges or in trees. The nest is made of whatever materials may have caught the builders' eyes. Ravens are known for their love of shiny objects. The female will lay from three to seven pale bluish-green, brown-blotched eggs. Both parents keep the eggs warm, and take turns feeding the chicks.
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Towerrabe.png|[[Common raven]]
File:Corvus cryptoleucus Arizona 2.jpg|[[Chihuahuan raven]]
File:Fan-tailed raven.jpg|[[Fan-tailed raven]]
File:Australian Raven Sydney University.jpg|[[Australian raven]]
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|[[Thick-billed raven]]
</gallery>


==See also==
Ravens have a varied diet. They will eat anything edible, including insects, berries, fruit, other birds' eggs, carrion, and the garbage from human homes. They also kill small birds and mammals, including young rabbits and rats.
* [[Cultural depictions of ravens]]
* [[Ravens of the Tower of London]]


==References==
Experiments have shown that ravens are able of using [[tool]]s; an experiment, where some desirable item lay on the bottom of a bottle, showed that some ravens were able to form a hook to reach the item.
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
Like other crows (corvids), ravens can copy sounds from their environment, including human speech.
{{Wikiquote|Ravens}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Raven}}
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/crows-corvidae Raven videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101229105854/http://enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=raven North American ravens] on eNature


{{Animal common name}}
The raven has long been of interest to creators of myths and legends. The raven was used as a symbol of rampage by the [[Viking]]s, who loved to paint them on their sails. In [[Norse mythology]], the ravens [[Hugin and Munin]] sat on the god [[Odin]]'s shoulders, and told him the news of the world. The [[Old English language|Old English]] word for a raven was ''hraefn''; in [[Old Norse language|Old Norse]] it was ''hrafn''; the word was frequently used in combinations as a [[kennings|kenning]] for bloodshed and battle.
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Ravens| ]]
Natives of north-western North America consider Raven the Creator of the World.
[[Category:Bird common names]]

There is a legend that [[England]] will not fall to a foreign invader as long as there are ravens at the [[Tower of London]]; the government now maintains several birds on the grounds of the tower, either for insurance or to please tourists (or both).

==Image link==
* [http://www.furry.org.au/corvus/raven%20sitting.jpg Raven]
* [http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~wjh101/hedbone/Birds/raven.jpg Raven skull]

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Ravens occur frequently in literature:
* The Raven "Grip" is an important character in [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[Barnaby Rudge]]''.
* [[Edgar Allan Poe]] also used the raven as a supernatural messenger in his poem '''''[[The Raven (Edgar Allan Poe)|The Raven]]'''''. In both works, the bird's power of speech is important.
* News-bearing ravens also appear in ''[[The Hobbit]]'', by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]].

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The raven is the [[List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols|official bird]] of [[Yukon]].

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'''''[[The Raven (periodical)| The Raven]]''''' is also the title of a periodical produced on an occasional basis by [[Freedom Press]].

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'''Raven''' is an [[adjective]] describing things that are shiny and black like a Raven's feathers.

Latest revision as of 21:54, 31 December 2024

For other uses, see Raven (disambiguation).

Common raven of North America (Corvus corax principalis) in flight

A raven is any of several larger-bodied passerine bird species in the genus Corvus. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigned to different species chiefly based on their size.

The largest raven species are the common raven and the thick-billed raven; these are also the largest passerine species.

Etymology

[edit]

The term raven originally referred to the common raven (Corvus corax), the type species of the genus Corvus, which has a larger distribution than any other species of Corvus, ranging over much of the Northern Hemisphere.

The modern English word raven has cognates in all other Germanic languages, including Old Norse (and subsequently modern Icelandic) hrafn[1] and Old High German (h)Raban,[2] all of which descend from Proto-Germanic *hrabanaz.[3]

One collective noun for a group of ravens is "unkindness";[4] in practice, most people use the more generic "flock".[5]

Extant species

[edit]
See also: List of Corvus species

Extinct species and morphs

[edit]
[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary entry for "raven".
  2. ^ Simpson, J.; Weiner, E., eds. (1989). "Raven". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.
  3. ^ "Raven". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
  4. ^ Lipton, James (1991). An Exaltation of Larks. Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-670-30044-0.
  5. ^ "flock of ravens, unkindness of ravens, treachery of ravens, conspiracy of ravens". Google Books Ngram Viewer. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to Ravens.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Raven".
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