Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff
Speaker 1: Loren Vogelbaum here, it takes an eye for small details
Speaker 1: to be a good bird watcher, and that's certainly the
Speaker 1: case when it comes to identifying ravens versus crows, though
Speaker 1: once you know what you're looking for, it's pretty easy. Altogether.
Speaker 1: There are more than thirty different species of crows and
Speaker 1: ravens worldwide, and they're all part of the genus Corvus,
Speaker 1: which includes other black birds like jackdaws and rooks. Many
Speaker 1: of these bear a passing resemblance to each other, but
Speaker 1: these slight differences in their feathers, vocalizations, and behaviors are
Speaker 1: just a few of the ways that you can tell
Speaker 1: these two birds apart. Now, instead of comparing the key
Speaker 1: traits of every single raven and crow species on Earth,
Speaker 1: we'll just focus on two species from North America today,
Speaker 1: the common raven and the American crow. Let's begin with
Speaker 1: relative size. A raven is noticeably bigger than a crow.
Speaker 1: It has a greater wingspan that can be almost four
Speaker 1: feet or over a meter in total length, while the
Speaker 1: distance between the beak tip and tail tip can be
Speaker 1: over two feet. That's more than half a meter. Contrast
Speaker 1: this with American crows, which can grow up to a
Speaker 1: still impressive but smaller three foot wing span a bit
Speaker 1: less than a meter. Their beak shape and size will
Speaker 1: be different too. Unlike the slim and straight beaked American crow,
Speaker 1: the common raven has a curved, wider beak. Of feathers,
Speaker 1: including those on the wings and tails, are one more
Speaker 1: thing that sets the common raven apart from the crow.
Speaker 1: Ravens have pointed wings and longer middle feathers in their tails,
Speaker 1: which gives them wedge shaped tails. The crow's tail feathers
Speaker 1: are mostly all the same length, which gives them fan
Speaker 1: shaped tails. Ravens also have shaggy feathers under their throats
Speaker 1: that make them look a little bit scruffy, while crows
Speaker 1: throats are smooth. The outstretched wings look different too. Crows
Speaker 1: have blunt shaped wings, while ravens have pointed wings. At
Speaker 1: the tips of both birds wings, you'll see the finger
Speaker 1: like primary feathers that birds use to propel themselves through
Speaker 1: the air. Because ravens soar as they fly, they have
Speaker 1: longer primaries, Crows flap more so their primaries are shorter.
Speaker 1: Both ravens and crows are considered songbirds, though their vocal
Speaker 1: stylings aren't quite smooth. Jazz crows make jarring call sounds,
Speaker 1: while ravens generally produce lower croaks. Both can imitate a
Speaker 1: range of noises, though rescued crows and ravens in captivity
Speaker 1: have been known to mimic other animals or their handler's speech,
Speaker 1: and will repeat words they hear often. When it comes
Speaker 1: to sociability in the wild, the two birds are light
Speaker 1: years apart. A Crows amass themselves in large groups sometimes
Speaker 1: called murders, and may roost together at night in huge
Speaker 1: clusters of several hundred birds. Ravens are less gregarious, preferring
Speaker 1: to live in mated pairs or in tight knit family units.
Speaker 1: Their habitat preferences vary as well. Crows generally favor wide
Speaker 1: open spaces, while common ravens tend to hang out in forests.
Speaker 1: Despite all the things that separate them, these birds share
Speaker 1: an impressive trait. They're both very intelligent. American crows can
Speaker 1: learn to recognize the faces of people who have helped
Speaker 1: or hurt them a while common ravens have shown both
Speaker 1: impulse control and active planning In lab experiments. A crows
Speaker 1: have been known to form special relationships with humans that
Speaker 1: feed them. They'll even bring back trinkets in return for food.
Speaker 1: The two birds have distinct diets, though they do share
Speaker 1: some similarities. A ravens, for instance, will eat everything from
Speaker 1: small mammals to other birds to reptiles, plus nuts, seeds, fruits,
Speaker 1: and other plants. They're not picky about whether they're prey
Speaker 1: is living or dead, and will scavenge waste from landfills.
Speaker 1: A crows will also eat small mammals, seeds, fruits, and grains,
Speaker 1: but they prefer other birds, mollusks, earthworms, and mice living
Speaker 1: or dead, perhaps because of their striking black plumage and
Speaker 1: penchant for eating dead things. There are a lot of myths, folklore,
Speaker 1: and superstitions about these birds. Just for examples, the Norse
Speaker 1: god Odin was said to have talking ravens who would
Speaker 1: fly around the world gathering news for him, and a
Speaker 1: story of Lakota Sioux origin says that the forefather of
Speaker 1: all crows was once tossed into a fire as punishment
Speaker 1: for his misdeeds, hence the dark feathers of its progeny.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article Raven versus Crow,
Speaker 1: What's the Difference on how stuffworks dot Com written by
Speaker 1: Mark Nancini. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio
Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced
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