People often get confused between a raven and a crow; they attribute both as the same bird due to their strong resemblance to each other but they are wholly different birds. Both ravens and crows are highly intelligent birds; however, they have different behavior, physical traits, habitats, etc.
It would be interesting to know who would win if a duel happens between these two. Let’s know about them in detail to choose our winner.
Physical traits:
Raven and crows both are black while the ravens are larger (as big as some hawks) than the crows having more weight and wingspan. The beak of the raven is larger than the crows and during flight raven’s neck appears to be larger than that of the crow. while crows are usually the size of a regular pigeon.
Also, raven and crow both have different tail shapes; raven’s tail is wedge-shaped or triangular whereas crow’s tail is shaped like a fan.
How do you identify a raven?
Raven’s wings have longer primaries with more space between them and are pointed while crow’s wings are blunt and spread out. As ravens got large wings they make “swish-swish” sounding wingbeats whereas crows have silent wingbeats.
Call of Birds:
Both raven and crow produce different sounds. Ravens have a deeper and less piercing calls and sounds like “Crooooaak’’, “Gronk-Gronk”, “tok” and “wonk-wonk”. Crow’s calls are high pitched and nasal; they are louder and harsher. Crows calls sounds like “kaw-kaw”.
Intelligence:
Both ravens and crows are counted among the intelligent birds. They can find out ways to get food and get adapted to the urban environment. It was also revealed by an experiment that crows develop a strong relationship with humans who feed them.
Diet:
Raven’s diet comprises of small birds, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, carrion, human garbage. Crows also have a similar diet including fruits, nuts, mollusks, seeds, insects, frogs, mice, etc.
Geographical Distribution:
Ravens are found in Greenland, Scandinavia, Northern Europe, British Isles, Asia, Pacific ocean, India, Africa and Central America. Crows are found all across the world except southern South America.
Habitat:
Where do Crows and ravens live?
Ravens live in the tundra, rocky cliffs, mountain forests, scrubby woodlands, deserts, and along the riverbanks except for rainforests. They used to live in forests but they also became habituated to live in urban areas. Crows also live in similar habitats to ravens.
Behavior:
Are Ravens aggressive?
Ravens are intelligent birds; they are able to find out innovative ways to overcome problems. Usually, ravens live in pairs alone but they can also live in groups where the resources are concentrated.
They are quite vigorous at defending their offspring’s and are usually attacked human and any other suspected threats.
What is a Crows personality?
Crows live in the social system, they also help each other to raise the young ones and to defend their territories. Ravens do not migrate whereas crows are partially migratory birds.
Combat: Bird Fight: Who Would Win?
Both these Corvidae species don’t like each other’s presence and hence, they cannot get along. They often fight over food, territory and nesting sites. The jet-black ravens are bigger and heavier than crows, they already have advantage over the crows. Also, they have more strength and heavy beak than crows, in a blow they can fracture or crack the crow’s skull.
In one on one bird fight it is nearly impossible for crow to win; if given a chance raven can also devour the crow. Raven rise victoriously over the crows in this bird duel; hence raven is the winner.
Comparison Chart: Crow vs Raven
| Comparison Heads | Raven | Crow |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata | Chordata |
| Class | Aves | Aves |
| Order | Passeriformes | Passeriformes |
| Family | Corvidae | Corvidae |
| Genus | Corvus | Corvus |
| Species | C. Corax | C. splendens |
| Size | Size like red-tailed hawks, 24-27 inches long | Similar to a pigeon, 17 inches long |
| Wings | Pointed wings | Blunt and wide |
| Wingspan | 46-54 inches | 32-40 inches |
| Tails | Wedge-shaped | Fan-shaped |
| Feathers | Shinny and wet | Less shiny and have greyish markings |
| Beak | Bigger, strong, and curved. | Smaller and flat |
| Adaptation | Feeds on carrion and are less social | Live around the human population and are more social. |
| Calls | “Crooooaak’’, “Gronk-Gronk”, “tok”, “wonk-wonk” | “kaw-kaw” |
| Lifespan | 30 years | 8 years |
| Habitat | Urban Landscape | Live in wild areas like a forest, woods. |
