A raven is any of several larger-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 based on their size.
The largest raven species are the common raven and the thick-billed raven; these are also the largest passerine species.
The term raven originally referred to the common raven (Corvus corax), the type species of the genus Corvus, which has a larger distribution than any other species of Corvus, ranging over much of the Northern Hemisphere.
The modern English word raven has cognates in all other Germanic languages, including Old Norse (and subsequently modern Icelandic) hrafn [1] and Old High German (h)Raban, [2] all of which descend from Proto-Germanic *hrabanaz. [3]
One collective noun for a group of ravens is "unkindness"; [4] in practice, most people use the more generic "flock". [5]
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Currently, 139 species are included in this family. The genus Corvus containing 50 species makes up over a third of the entire family. Corvids (ravens) are the largest passerines.
The white-necked raven is a species of raven native to eastern and southern Africa. It is somewhat smaller than the common raven or its nearest relative, the thick-billed raven C. crassirostris.
The fan-tailed raven is a passerine bird of the crow family native to Eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The common raven or northern raven is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. There are 11 accepted subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages 63 centimetres in length and 1.47 kilograms in weight, though up to 2 kg (4.4 lb) in the heaviest individuals. Although their typical lifespan is considerably shorter, common ravens can live more than 23 years in the wild. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory.
The Chihuahuan raven is a species of crow in the family Corvidae that is native to the United States and Mexico.
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