Common Raven
Corvus corax
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A deep, resonant 'cronk' from overhead, and a bird far bigger than any crow has a right to be.
The largest crow in the world and the largest songbird: heavy-billed, shaggy-throated, with long fingered wings and a wedge-shaped tail that is the best flight identification. Ravens are birds of the Galloway hills, crags and coast rather than the town centre, but they have spread back across lowland Dumfries and Galloway in recent decades and can now be seen almost anywhere in the district.
Behaviour
Ravens are formidably intelligent, with a wide vocabulary and a well-documented capacity for planning and play — including rolling on their backs in flight and tumbling for no obvious purpose. Pairs mate for life and display with synchronised aerobatics, sometimes flying upside down. They nest exceptionally early, often on a crag or tall tree with eggs laid in February, and feed largely on carrion.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Crows (Corvidae)
- Size
- 60–68 cm · buzzard-sized
- UK status
- Green-listed
Photo by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons