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'{{short description|Several species of the genus Corvus}} {{other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}} [[File:3782 Common Raven in flight.jpg|thumb|right|A raven in flight]] A '''raven''' is one of several larger-bodied species of 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", and these appellations have been assigned to different species chiefly on the basis of their size, crows generally being smaller than ravens. The largest raven species are the [[common raven]] and the [[thick-billed raven]]. ==Etymology== 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 [[Icelandic language|modern Icelandic]]) ''hrafn''<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'' entry for "raven."</ref> and [[Old High German]] ''(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]] ''*hrabanaz''.<ref>{{cite web| title=Raven| work=Online Etymology Dictionary| url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=raven| accessdate=14 May 2007}}</ref> [[Collective noun]]s for a group of ravens (or at least the common raven) include "unkindness",<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lipton|first=James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AVNazQEACAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en|title=An Exaltation of Larks|date=1991|publisher=Viking|isbn=978-0-670-30044-0|language=en}}</ref> "treachery",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://baltimorebirdclub.org/gnlist.html | title=Baltimore Bird Club. Group Name for Birds: A Partial List | accessdate=3 June 2007}}</ref> and "conspiracy".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucgc.org/terms-for-collections.htm|title=University of California Golf Club. List of Collective Nouns|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040918183029/http://www.ucgc.org/terms-for-collections.htm|archive-date=18 September 2004|accessdate=16 July 2008}}</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=Google Ngram Viewer|website=books.google.com|access-date=2020-01-05}}</ref> ==Current 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 peninusla, Greater Middle East) * ''[[Corvus tasmanicus]]'' – [[forest raven]] (Tasmania, southern Victoria and north-east NSW in Australia) <gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> File:Head of Raven.jpg|Head of a [[common raven]] File:Corvus corax jouveniles.jpeg|Common ravens 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. </gallery> ==Extinct species== * †''[[Corvus moriorum]]'' – [[Chatham raven]] * †''[[Corvus antipodum]]'' – [[New Zealand raven]] * †''[[Corvus corax varius morpha leucophaeus]]'' – [[pied raven]] ==See also== * [[Cultural depictions of ravens]] * [[Ravens of the Tower of London]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{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 * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjRTeJduCKg Interesting raven video from Arizona] {{Animal common name}} [[Category:Birds by common name]] [[Category:Corvus (genus)]]'