Australian Raven
A species of Crows Scientific name : Corvus coronoides Genus : Crows
Australian Raven, A species of Crows
Botanical name: Corvus coronoides
Genus: Crows
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Description
Measuring 46–53 cm (18–21 in) in length with a 100 cm (39 in) wingspan and weighing around 650 g (1.43 lb), the adult Australian raven is an all black-bird with a black beak, mouth and tongue and sturdy black or grey-black legs and feet. The tibia is fully feathered and the tarsus is long, and the feet large and strong. It has white irises. The plumage is glossy with a blue-purple to a blue-green sheen, greenish over the ear coverts, depending on the light. The underparts are not glossy. The Australian raven has throat feathers (hackles) that are lanceolate with rounded tips, while the other four species of Australian corvids have bifurcate tips, though this can be difficult to see in the field. The hackles are also longer than those of the other four species; when they are raised (such as when the bird is calling), they give the bird an unusual bearded appearance. The upper third of the upper mandible, including the nares and nasal groove, is covered with bristles, which can be up to 3 cm (1.2 in) long. The heavy-set beak is tipped with a slight hook, and is longer than the bird's head. The wings are long and broad, with the longest of its ten primary feathers (usually the seventh but occasionally the eighth) almost reaching the end of the tail when the bird is at rest. The tail is rounded or wedge-shaped. The Australian raven can be distinguished from the two species of crow occurring in Australia by the grey base of the feathers, which is white in the latter species. The demarcation between pale and black regions on the feather is gradual in the ravens and sharply delineated in the crows. Feather bases are not normally visible when observing birds in the field, but can sometimes be seen on a windy day if the feathers are ruffled. Unlike the other four species, the Australian raven has a bare patch of skin under and extending to beside, the bill. This can be hard to discern in the field. The three species of raven are more heavily set with a broader chest than the two crow species, with the forest raven the stockiest of all. Relative size of species is only useful when two species can be seen side by side, as the overlap in size is large and the difference in size small. Juveniles resemble adults, but lack throat hackles, and sometimes have a pink fleshy gape. The bill is shorter and shallower; its base can be pinkish and the tip can be light grey. The plumage is more ruffled and softer in appearance, lacks the glossy highlights and often having a brown tinge. The bare skin on the throat is pink in birds that have recently left the nest. Eye colour varies with age, gradually lightening from juvenile to adult. Nestlings up to four months old have blue-grey irises, juveniles aged from four to fifteen months have dark brown irises, and immature birds have hazel irises with an inner blue rim around each pupil until age two years and ten months. Immature birds older than one year develop hackles, while some pink remains in the gape until the bird is two or three years of age. 
Size
54 cm
Life Expectancy
21 years
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Australian Raven consumes a varied diet including insects, invertebrates, carrion, and occasionally live prey like young rabbits. Its food-intake shifts seasonally. Australian Raven displays complex foraging behavior, taking food primarily from the ground and sometimes from trees or water, with activities peaking in cooler parts of the day. They have adapted to urban food sources and can store food for later consumption.
Habitat
Australian Raven predominantly occupies a variety of habitats ranging from eucalypt-dominated woodlands and pastoral lands to urban areas where trees or buildings are present for perching. Australian Raven is adaptable and can be found from alpine regions up to 2000 meters, to littoral and arid zones, avoiding densely forested areas like rainforests. The presence of water sources and roosting sites is essential for their habitat. Australian Raven thrives on the edge between wooded and open spaces and has successfully adapted to human-altered landscapes, including agricultural and urban environments.
Dite type
Omnivorous
People often ask
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Bird Feeder Type
Platform
Behavior
Difficulties in distinguishing Australian corvids has hampered understanding of seasonal movements. The Australian raven is thought to be largely sedentary, with most movement of over 16 km (9.9 mi) due to flocks of non-breeding subadult birds. Juvenile birds leave their parents and join flocks when they are four or five months old. Smaller flocks of 8–30 birds stay within an area of around 260 square kilometres, while larger flocks of up to 300 birds may travel hundreds of kilometres seeking food. A single breeding pair and their brood can occupy a territory of up to around 120 hectares (300 acres) and remains there year-round, though groups of ravens may enter this area to forage. Australian ravens will defend their territory by chasing, dive-bombing and occasionally striking the backs of birds of prey, foxes or even people. They generally mate for life, though occasionally one male has been found to be mated with two females in adjacent territories. If the female dies, the male Australian raven maintains the territory and finds another mate, while if the male bird is lost, the female abandons the territory. No courtship behaviour has been observed, and species that mate for life often lack elaborate courting displays. Once they begin breeding at three years of age, they live another four to five years on average. During this time they produce two surviving young each year on average. The longest-lived Australian raven recorded is an adult (of at least 3 years of age) that was banded and recaptured alive 12 years and 5 months later. Australian ravens generally walk when moving around on the ground, though do hop when hurrying. They preen themselves frequently, particularly when roosting in the middle of the day. They also engage in allopreening, where birds will preen each other's head and neck. This takes place particularly in autumn, winter and spring, and is important in pair bonding. Either member may initiate it, generally by landing near the other bird, shuffling next to its mate, then bending its head forward and presenting its nape.
Distribution Area
The Australian raven is common throughout eastern Australia, and southern Western Australia (the populations being connected by a narrow strip across the Nullarbor Plain), but it is rarer and more scattered in the north, with isolated sightings in Cape York at Coen, Windmill Creek and the Mitchell River, and becoming more common south of Rockhampton in central Queensland. It is found throughout New South Wales, though is uncommon in the northeast of the state. It is rare in the Australian Alps, being replaced there by the little raven. It occurs across Victoria and eastern South Australia, through the Eyre Peninsula and Nullarbor Plain into Western Australia, across the state north to the Wooramel River. It is found on some offshore islands such as Rottnest Island and Kangaroo Island. It is a rare vagrant to Lord Howe Island., though it was recorded as a vagrant in New Zealand in the 1870s, this has not been confirmed. The Australian raven can be found in a wide range of natural and modified habitats. It requires available water and trees (or buildings) to roost in or perch on. Preferred habitats include eucalypt-dominated sclerophyll forest, and farmland adjacent to trees. It is also found in heath and mangroves. In areas where it occurs with the little raven, namely over much of central New South Wales, Victoria and into South Australia, the Australian raven is restricted to more forested areas while the latter species prefers more open areas. Similarly, in inland Australia it can share a range with the little crow, as the two do not appear to compete. However, the ranges of similar-sized forest raven and Torresian crow only narrowly overlap with the Australian raven as all three compete with each other. In central and western regions, Australian ravens and Torresian crows vie for the scattered uncommon trees and outcrops, and only one or the other are found there. It co-occurs with the forest raven in northeastern New South Wales from Port Stephens northwards. The Australian raven has adapted very well to human habitation in some cities and is the most common corvid in Canberra, Sydney and Perth; in Melbourne and Adelaide it is replaced by the little raven, and by the Torresian crow in Brisbane. Its large range, abundance and increasing population mean it is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Crows and jays Genus
Crows Species
Australian Raven 
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