Raven

{{Short description|Collection of birds with the same common name}}

{{about|species known as ravens in general|the common raven of the Northern Hemisphere|Common raven}}

A raven is any of several large-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 by size.

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

Etymology

The term raven originally referred to the common raven (Corvus corax), the widespread species of the Northern Hemisphere.

The modern English word raven has cognates in all other Germanic languages, including Old Norse (and subsequently modern Icelandic) {{lang|non|hrafn}}Oxford English Dictionary entry for "raven". and Old High German {{lang|goh|(h)Raban}},{{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 }} all of which descend from Proto-Germanic {{lang|gem-x-proto|*hrabanaz}}.{{cite web |title=Raven |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=raven |access-date=14 May 2007 }}

Collective nouns for a group of ravens include a "conspiracy", a "treachery", a "rave" and an "unkindness";{{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}}{{Cite web|url=https://a-z-animals.com/blog/what-is-a-group-of-ravens-called/|title=What is a Group of Ravens Called?|first=Niccoy|last=Walker|date=15 February 2023|website=A-Z Animals}} in practice, most people use the more generic "flock".{{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 }}

Extant 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 edithae – Dwarf raven (Horn of Africa)
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

†Corvus moriorum – Chatham raven
†Corvus antipodum – New Zealand raven
†Corvus corax varius morpha leucophaeus – Pied raven (extinct morph of common raven)

Gallery

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

References

External links

[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

Category:Bird common names