Here in the Pacific Northwest there is a large and happy community of crows and ravens. Part of the corvid family of birds that also includes jays, magpies, and a few others; crows and ravens are incredibly intelligent and often hard to tell apart from far away. Below are some helpful but general guidelines for you to follow while you are out in the park – where you can find both the American Crow and the Common Raven!
We are lucky to have had a pair of ravens nesting in the park for more than ten years.
American Crow
Often seen in large groups or solo
Tail is shaped like a fan
Cawing sound “caw caw”
Generally smaller than raven
Considered predators and scavengers
Able to live in wilderness and urban areas due to their adaptability
Omnivores
Common Raven
Often travel in pairs
Tail is wedge/diamond shaped
Lower croaking sound “kraa kraa”
Larger – about the size of a red-tailed hawk
Considered predators
Uncommon in populated urban areas, found in wilderness
Omnivores but more carnivorous
What is so special about these birds?
Crows and ravens are considered geniuses in the bird world based on studies and observations by many scientists and naturalists. They have tight-knit communities, play, perform “funerals,” and are able to solve puzzles. This intelligence is what has made the crow in particular so adaptable to the increase in urban areas. Crows have been documented opening zippers on backpacks, opening containers of food, dropping nuts on streets to have cars crack them, and more.
Many groups of people historically and currently view crows as nuisances or harbingers of death, and many folklore legends depict the crow and raven as tricksters. However, these birds are incredibly family-oriented and protective. There is one sweet Native American Lenape tale of the crow originally having beautiful rainbow colored feathers, offering to send a message to the Great Sky Spirit after a long period of cold and returning with fire that scorches his feathers on the long flight back down to land – giving it black iridescent feathers and a hoarse song.
More information:
For some cool facts about crows and ravens, check out this webpage.
For more information on the difference between sounds that crows and ravens make, check out this video “Caw vs. Croak” from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
There have been many books written about crows and ravens, including Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt; In the Company of Crows and Ravens and Gifts of the Crow by John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell; Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich; and Bird Brains by Candace Savage.
For a look into crow culture, check out this Deep Look video or this PBS video.
To learn more about birds, there are many books published by the Audubon Society. They also have webpages for crows and ravens.
To identify birds while out on your walk through the park, check out the Merlin App by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on your phone.
To stretch your creativity, check out this video created by a Burke Museum employee on how to draw ravens.
Bridle Trails State Park bird overview and species list here.
Photo credits: Flickr (David Hofmann), Wikipedia Commons (Ryan Hodnett).