The Australian raven can be told apart from the Australian crow, and other related corvids, by their long chest feathers, aka throat hackles. They are seen as a pest species of bird, as they are loud and tend to get into situations they shouldn’t. They are threatened by humans as they will shoot, trap, and poison these ravens for fear of them killing lambs. However, they are not attracted to lambs to hunt them, they are attracted to the lamb’s afterbirth as a meal. These birds also face the issues of habitat loss and destruction in the form of woodland and forest removal and conversion into human habitations. Australian ravens are also sometimes fed by humans at parks and in urban settings. This reduces their fear of humans and makes them more reliant upon being fed, rather than hunting and searching for food on their own. Despite all this, these birds are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Their populations are also actually increasing.
First the Stats…
Scientific name: Corvus coronoides
Weight: Up to 1.8 lbs.
Length: Up to 21 inches
Wingspan: Up to 39 inches
Lifespan: Up to 22.5 years
Now on to the Facts!
1.) These ravens were first described by zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors and naturalist Thomas Horsfield in 1827.
2.) Their preferred habitats are open woodlands and transitional zones, but they have adapted very well to cities and towns.
3.) Little ravens and forest ravens are their closest relatives.
4.) There are 2 subspecies recognized: C. c. perplexus and C. c. coronoides.
5.) Their territorial call is a slow, high “ah-ah-aaaah” sound.
But wait, there’s more on the Australian raven!
6.) Volume, pitch, tempo, and the order of notes can be altered depending on the message these birds intend to express.
7.) These birds are known for defending their territory via chasing, dive-bombing, and sometimes striking the backs of birds of prey, foxes, or even humans and/or cats and dogs.
Did you know…?
The Australian raven is the largest species of corvid in Australia.
8.) Although typically monogamous (mate for life) there have been documented sightings of a single male with a pair of females. This is called polygyny.
9.) Nests are typically large and messy structures, consisting of a bowl or an arrangement of sticks lined with barks, feathers, and grasses.
10.) Females lay up to 6 eggs that hatch in up to 20 days.
But wait, there’s still more on the Australian raven!
11.) Insects, spiders, millipedes, centipedes (which they behead before eating), grasshoppers, cicadas, caterpillars, smaller birds, like galahs, and carrion (dead animals) are all on the menu.
12.) These birds drink water up to 10x a day.
Did you know…?
They have been documented dunking pieces of meat in water before eating them, as well as doing the same with hard foods to make them softer to eat.
13.) In the standard corvid tradition, these birds are highly intelligent. They have been seen using fences to smash snail shells on, utilizing tools to search for food, turning over rocks, and can recognize faces of people they do and don’t like.
14.) Wedge-tailed eagles, little eagles, and powerful owls all prey on adults and their young.
15.) According to Australian Aboriginal mythology, Crow is a trickster, an ancestral being, and a cultural hero. In the Kulin nation in central Victoria he was known as Waa, aka Wahn or Waang, and was revered as 1 of 2 moiety ancestors, the other being the more sombre eaglehawk Bunjil.
Now a Short Australian Raven Video!
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Some source material acquired from: Wikipedia & IUCN
