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Anonymous
HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A RAVEN AND A CROW:
1)Size. Ravens are bigger. MUCH bigger. They're the biggest members of the family passeriformes (the perching birds), and can be as big as a small hawk.
2)Beak shape. The beak of a raven is heavier and more blunt, bigger in relation to the head than that of a crow. A crow's beak is a bit sharper and shorter, whereas a raven's beak is shaped a bit like a bullet.
3)Tail shape. Ravens have a diamond-shaped tail while they are in flight, and crows have a curved fan shape to their tails.
4)Call. The call of a crow is nasal and higher-pitched, but a raven's is hoarser and throatier, more of a croak than a caw. Ravens are the better mimics, too, and are more likely to make un-raven-y noises.
5)Habitat. Ravens are much rarer in urban environments than crows. If you see it diving in the trashcan behind McDonald's, it's probably a crow. If you see it diving in the trashcan in a national park, it's probably a raven. That's not to say that ravens never enter the city and that crows never enter the wilderness; each bird as a species just has a preference.
6)Numbers. Crows routinely gather in large numbers. (Called a "murder of crows," but a "flock" is fine, too.) Ravens gather in flocks occasionally, such as when there's a large amount of food or when juvenile and seeking mates, but generally they'll tend to be encountered as loners or nesting pairs.
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