No, it's not another blog post about football or some other sport.
I know when to quit.
This is about a matter of controversy in the field of ornithology.
Now in case you've forgotten your high school studies, ornithology is defined as a branch of zoology dealing with the study of birds.
And today we are going to solve a long-standing argument about those big black birds.
Specifically, crows and ravens, and which is which.
I have long railed at people who call them all "crows", when frequently the bird they've spotted is a "raven".
My way of identifying the two is pretty simple.
Crows stick to the countryside while ravens are more social and come into town to raid your dumpsters and hang around your parking lots.
But today a friend has sent me a new method of differentiating between the two species and I hereby offer it to all of you.
I have chosen to keep my friend's identity private to prevent him from being shunned in public places.
17 comments:
And where does the rook come in?😎😄
I took you seriously and Googled it. We don't have rooks over here but they are distinguishable by a white face.
Big Raven fan! Love their Charlie Chaplin walk, their big vocab, and their willingness to be close to humans. If I still had a birdbath out front they would still be washing their dead fish in it!
Ravens are quite vocal, more so than crows.
Groan! ;-)
Ha ha, that's pretty funny. Thank you for the laugh.
I live in a subdivision that is called Ravenswood, so I think those big black birds I see hawking at my dog are Ravens? Any way I love them and they are fun to watch.
In Butte, we have Ravens. Crows also, but fewer. In the winter it's all Ravens. They frolic when the temp drops to -20, gavotting around, hanging by their beaks from power lines. One often sits on my iron fence and glares at me through the window. I'm not sure, but he/she could be croaking 'nevermore'.
I thought ravens were much bigger than crows.
Crows sound like Caw Caw. Ravens make a philosophical noise that sounds like "Nevermore."
Ravens are also much bigger and look like tough crows with their thick bills. They look a little rough around the edges to my mind.
Ha ha...there are a few ravens around here. I photographed one about a year ago but I haven't seen it lately. I have however, heard it.
Oh, groan!
Haha! I thought you were going to give us serious information - ha!
Not here! Jackdaws here have a grey head.
Then, A crow in a crowd is a rook....and a rook on his own is a crow!!
Quoth the The Catalyst for everymore...
Nothing like watching a murder of a hundred Crows descend on the trees in your front yard...sqawk for a few minutes and fly on
I called my husband in from the other room to hear this one. We're both still laughing. 😀
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