The black crow is a bird from the genus of crows.
Habitat
In our country, this species is common in Eastern Siberia and the Far East. In nature, there are many related populations and hybrids of the black crow.
Very close genetic relationship introduces a lot of confusion and controversy in the description of these individuals. The most harmonious and less controversial systematization divides the black crow species into 4 subspecies:
Very often, the ranges of black and gray crows intersect, they intersect with each other and new hybrids are created.
Appearance
The black crow is easily confused with a rook, but its black colored feathers (hence the name of the species) are more green, purple or blue. This is especially noticeable in sunlight.
black crow photo
Black beak and paws. The nostrils are covered with black feathers short as bristles. The tail is rounded. It differs from the common raven in a much smaller size. The body length of the black crow is 48-52 cm versus 60-65 of the common crow. Weight - 700 grams
Lifestyle. Nutrition
Ravens live in solitary pairs, but during long and cold winters they can stray into flocks and populate the empty nests of rooks. Sometimes they feed in the same area with rooks and magpies. The voice of a crow cannot be confused with the voice of any other bird.
black crow in flight photo
The guttural voice of the crow sounds in the same timbre, its croaking, emits a deep, hoarse cry of k-r-a-a. Sitting on the top of a tree, the bird makes a lot of noise, because it emits its piercing croak several times in a row with short pauses.
Some cycles of croaking can last for hours. In short intervals between periods of vocal exercises, the crow can change its location. She flaps her wings slowly, measuredly, without fuss and haste.
black Crow. I sit high, I look far away
Due to the predilection of black crows to eat the carrion of various animals, they have a reputation as scavengers. But they will not refuse grain, insects, small mammals and food waste from garbage dumps. Therefore, black crows can often be seen near people's dwellings.
reproduction
The ability to reproduce offspring in a crow occurs at the age of two, then a pair arises. The couple builds a nest together from small but strong branches. It is large, spacious and located at a height - the top of a tree, a ledge of an old, abandoned building.
black crows. couple photo
In difficult places, birds nest on the ground. Eggs of blue or greenish color with brown specks in the amount of 4-6 pieces are incubated only by the female. The male provides her with food. After 17-19 days, chicks appear. They are completely naked, but a month will pass and they will have plumage.
Crow- This is one of the largest birds of the order of crows from the genus of crows. This bird is quite large, but at the same time it is a very beautiful bird and it is able to surprise many.
The raven is very similar to the rook, but differs in its dimensions. It is much larger and more massive. The body length is approximately 70 centimeters. The body weight of males and females is different, it is in this indicator that sexual dimorphism will manifest itself.
The mass of males reaches more than 1500 grams, while the mass of females does not exceed 1350 grams. Also, the difference is observed in the length of the wing, in males this figure averages 450 mm, and in females about 400 mm. Otherwise, there were no differences in gender among these birds.
The coloration of females and males is identical. crows These are completely black birds. But black crows only at first glance. If you look at the birds more closely and longer, you will notice the presence of unique shades and tints that create a unique play of color and brilliance.
On the head, neck and wings, you can see a purple, or even purple tint, but on the underside of the body there is a characteristic bluish metallic tint. In bright sunlight, you can see the green tint of feathers. Black Raven, which differs from other birds in its matte black plumage color, without ebb and shine, is a young bird that has yet to acquire elegant plumage after molting.
But you've probably heard the expression " White crow". Of course, to a greater extent it has become a kind of description of someone who is not like everyone else. But in nature, the truth exists white crows. This is a unique natural phenomenon that deserves special attention. The voice of the raven is well known to everyone with a loud croak, but besides this, the bird can make other sounds, something like “crunch” and “tok”.
The raven is considered one of the most intelligent birds, many scientists say that these birds have intelligence. To confirm this fact, a large number of experiments were carried out in which the raven revealed its mental abilities from an unexpected side. For example, in order to drink water from a jug, a raven threw various objects (stones, branches) into it so that the water level rose and the bird could quench its thirst. As this experiment showed, the raven knows the simplest laws of physics that exist in our world.
In addition, scientists claim that the raven knows how to use gestures. This is a very rare occurrence in the world of birds. Like a small child, a raven takes some object in its beak, thereby attracting the attention of other birds, and then uses a certain sign language.
There is also information that this unique bird has a rather rare quality - patience. Sometimes not every person can boast of this trait, but this is typical for ravens. Sometimes, instead of rash actions, the raven prefers to wait and show patience.
The nature and lifestyle of the crow
The crow lives in large areas: Europe, Asia, North and Central America, North Africa. crow habitat quite diverse, they can be found in forests, mountains and even in urban areas.
Ravens can be found throughout the year, but in some regions of residence, nevertheless, migrations of these birds have been observed. For example, in the Caucasus and Turkmenistan in the mountainous region, not all birds remain in their places, many of them are nomadic.
In winter, most often they can be found near people's dwellings, since there are more chances to find something edible. Landfills are considered another attractive place for crows; it is in places where garbage accumulates that a large number of these birds are noted. crow population not numerous, in some places it is even a rare bird.
The raven is very smart and can be kept at home, it can be trained and tamed. But at the same time, one must be prepared for the difficulties that, undoubtedly, may arise. Ravens are quite angry and aggressive birds, they are vindictive and overly jealous. A raven becomes attached to one person, and this lasts his whole life.
For young children, a raven is a great danger, so it is better to avoid their communication alone. The raven loves to destroy everything, with the help of a powerful beak and sharp claws on its paws, they spoil and break many objects in the house. For example, they damage equipment, tear textiles, peel off wallpaper from the walls. The raven has an unpleasant odor, so its hygiene and cleanliness must be monitored very carefully.
But there are also advantages of keeping such a pet, first of all, it is very unusual, secondly, the raven is a very smart bird, thirdly, they can be taught to talk, fourthly, the raven will be your true friend and, for sure, will not betray difficult situation.
Reproduction and lifespan of crows In the wild, crows, unfortunately, do not have such a long lifespan, usually about 15 years. At the same time, there are cases when crows lived for 40, and 50, and even more than 60 years.
If you provide good conditions and food, then the bird can live for a very long time. In mythology and magic, ravens were also credited with 300 years of life, but scientists have not yet recorded such cases.
Ravens are very faithful birds, they are monogamous, that is, having chosen a partner for themselves, they remain with him for life and do not change him. Sexual maturity and readiness to reproduce crow offspring occurs at the age of two.
Nest building is done by both the male and the female. As a rule, the nest is located high above the ground on the branches of a powerful, strong tree. Branches, sometimes quite large, are considered the main material for construction. If necessary, they are fastened with mud or clay.
Mating and birds occurs in February, but egg laying falls in March. The female usually lays 4 to 6 eggs with a short interval of one or two days. The eggs have an unusual color, they are gray-blue with dark brown specks. Not only the female, but also the male incubates the eggs for 20 days.
Usually, these birds make only one clutch per year, but if the nest is destroyed soon after laying the eggs, it is possible that the female will lay her eggs a second time.
After the birth of the chicks, both individuals feed, as their offspring are very voracious and need to be taken care of. After about 1.5 months, the chicks begin to leave the nest and become more independent. At first, young birds stay close to their parents, but over time they separate further and further. By the beginning of the cold weather, they are already living an independent life.
Crow food
Raven is a bird that is not particularly picky in food, it is omnivorous. Often the crow acts as a nurse, since a large proportion of its diet is nothing but carrion. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see their crows in landfills, near slaughterhouses, and in garbage dumps.
But the raven is not averse and will hunt. The diet includes small rodents, chicks and eggs from ruined nests, fish, beetles, mollusks and various small insects. Plant food is also present in the diet, birds are happy to eat various fruits and berries, nuts.
The image of a raven in culture
Crow- a unique and inimitable, mysterious and very smart bird. That is why many creators of beauty dedicated their works to this bird. The image of the raven is widely revealed in mythology, literature, music, cinematography and even in games. I would like to bring to your attention the fable of Ivan Andreevich Krylov, which is called “The Crow”.
"Crow"
I.A. Krylov
When you don't want to be funny
Hold on to the title you were born into.
A commoner is not related to the nobility:
And if created by Karla,
Then do not reach for the giants,
And remember your height more often,
Sticking your tail with a peacock feather,
The crow with Pavami went for a walk arrogantly -
And thinks that on her
Relatives and former friends of her
Everyone will look, as if marvelously;
That Pavam is a sister to everyone
And that her time has come
To be an ornament to Juno's court.
What was the fruit of her arrogance?
That Pavami is plucked all around,
And that, running away from them, almost somersault,
Not to mention someone else
There were few feathers left on her and her own.
She was back to her; but those at all
The pecked Crow was not recognized,
The crow was plucked to the full,
And her ventures ended
That she lagged behind the Ravens,
And I didn’t stick to Pava.
I will explain this fable to you.
Matryona, daughter of a merchant, thought fell,
To enter a noble family.
Dowry for her half a million.
Here Matryona was given out as a baron.
What happened? New relatives prick her eyes
Reproach that she was born a bourgeois.
And the old one, because she tangled herself with the nobles:
And my Matryona became
Neither Pava nor Raven.
The crow has already become so familiar on the city streets that we do not pay any attention to it. These birds, preferring black and gray clothes, in autumn literally occupy the trees of city parks and courtyards, noisily quarreling with each other because of convenient branches. Closer to human habitats, they move when the sources of forest food become so scarce that they are no longer able to feed the hordes of these noisy birds.
The crow is a large bird of dense build with a wide and blunt beak. It is often confused with the jackdaw due to the similarity in appearance and with the bird called "raven" due to the similarity of names. In appearance, the crow is easy to distinguish from its relatives - its body is gray, but the head, wings and tail are black, with a metallic sheen. Crows are not picky about food. They can eat both animal and vegetable food. In cities, they mainly feed on garbage.
The character of the crow is impudent and impudent. When these birds destroy other people's nests in search of food, they are not afraid of anyone, even a person. Moreover, crows are perfectly able to assess the degree of danger - if a person has a stick in his hands, the crow will not even think of flying away. But, seeing a gun, she will instantly disappear from view, and will not appear in these places for several days.
Special mention should be made of the mental abilities of the crow. In the famous fable by I.A. Krylov “The Crow and the Fox”, the crow appears before us as a stupid and narrow-minded bird. But in real life, this is far from the case. Crows are smart and resourceful birds. You can often see how a crow busily soaks too dry pieces of food found on city streets in a puddle. A fact is known when a crow, watching people walk along a pedestrian crossing, without thinking twice, importantly went after them, like a real pedestrian.
Just like humans, crows love fun and games. A case is described when a crow with great pleasure rolled down a slippery lid, as if from a hill, and she did this several times, clearly making conscious actions. They love crows and collective games. For example, one of the crows takes a small object in its beak and, having risen into the sky, releases it from its beak. The second must catch this object with her beak. Now it's her turn to throw. The game continues until the object falls to the ground. Another favorite pastime of crows is teasing dogs and cats. They do it purely for fun.
Crows are very skillful in obtaining food. One day, a family of crows discovered a source of food in a bowl of a yard dog. But how to get to the tidbit? Here the crows showed miracles of organized activity - one of them crept up to the dog from behind and pecked painfully at its leg. The dog was distracted from lunch for a few seconds and turned to the offender. At this time, the second crow flew up to the bowl like a bullet, grabbed the bone and was like that. As a result, the dog was left without lunch, and the crows feasted noisily in the nearby bushes.
With the onset of spring, flocks of crows move from the city to the forest, closer to nature, where they are expected to take care of their future offspring. Despite their scandalousness and grumpiness, crows are good family men and caring parents. Having created a married couple, they never part. During the nesting period, like many other birds, crows build their own nest. They use branches of various sizes, earth and clay for construction. And for the final “finishing” of the dwelling, grass, down, feathers and any other suitable material are used. While the female is hatching the chicks, the male provides her with food, while he himself protects the nest from external enemies. In case of danger, he will fiercely defend the nest from any aggressor, even surpassing it in strength and size.
After the chicks grow up and get stronger, they, according to bird laws, leave their parents and join numerous flocks of crows. As part of these flocks, they will carelessly get their livelihood in the forest all summer, and in the fall they will move closer to city buildings in order to wait out harsh winter times together with people.
Crow is a bird belonging to the order of passerines. This smartest bird is familiar to everyone, since crows prefer to live next to a person.
Characteristics and photos of crows
The description of the crow should begin with the size of the body of the bird. The crow is one of the largest passerine birds. Outwardly, the bird looks like a rook.
The body length is 48-56 cm. Males are usually larger than females. The wingspan of the crow reaches 1 m. In flight, the crow is helped by its wedge-shaped tail, which has long tail feathers.
The plumage of crows is usually black, rarely gray. Feathers in the light cast green, purple or magenta. At the base of the crow feathers are light gray or white.
Ravens have a loud, high-pitched voice reminiscent of laughter. Scientists have found that the crow language is very developed and diverse. These birds make sounds in different tonalities to convey different signals to their relatives, as well as during mating games.
In nature, crows live from 15 to 20 years. In captivity, the life expectancy of birds increases to 35-40 years. The officially registered long-liver among the crows was a crow who lived for 59 years.
Crow habitat
The crow is a very common bird. Representatives of this species can be found on most continents. The bird prefers to live in settlements, leading a sedentary lifestyle and living in flocks.
There are also nomadic species of crows that migrate to areas with a warmer climate during the winter.
What do crows eat?
Crows are good hunters. For a more successful hunt, they unite in packs, and after its completion they eat the prey together. Ravens are also scavengers.
Often flocks of crows chase predators to get prey or its remains.
Birds are completely omnivorous and will eat anything they deem edible. This includes insects, fish, small animals, eggs and chicks of other birds. 
Living next to humans, crows often feed on waste in city dumps, and with a lack of animal food, they can also eat plant foods.
Is a raven a male crow?
Raven and crow are very similar birds. However, they should not be confused. Although these birds belong to the same genus, crows are two completely different species.
Consider the differences between a crow and a crow:
- The raven is much larger than the crow. The body length of the crow is 60-65 cm, and the weight reaches one and a half kilograms;
- The tail of a raven is rounded, in contrast to the wedge-shaped tail of a crow;
- The plumage of birds is also different. The raven has elongated craw feathers compared to crow feathers;
- The way of life of birds is also different. Raven is a solitary bird that prefers to live in forests. The crow lives near a person and tries to stay in flocks.
crow species
Black Crow
True to its name, this bird is distinguished from other crows by its black plumage. In addition to feathers, her beak and paws are also painted black.
In appearance, the bird is very similar to the rook, but differs from it in a denser body and a deep green tint of feathers. This species of crow lives in Europe and the Asian part of Russia.
Hoodie
This species is often referred to as black crows, but some scientists still distinguish it as a separate species.
This bird differs from the black crow in the gray body color, but the head, wings, tail and paws are painted black. Such crows live in Russia and in many countries of Europe and Asia.
bronze crow
Despite the names, the crows of this species are black in color with one white spot on the back of the head.
This crow is larger than the previous species, its body length can reach 60-64 cm. Crows of this species nest in the mountains and live in the highlands of Africa.
white-necked crow
The bird is similar to a black crow, but differs from it by a characteristic white spot at the base of the neck.
These crows are common in North America.
australian crow
The plumage of these birds is painted black with a blue-green tint.
It differs from the black crow in its large sparse neck feathers and the white iris of the eyes.
Such crows live in Australia, as their name suggests, being the largest of the three Australian crow species.
bristly crow
Crows of this species are black in color and differ from the black crow in a thinner beak and very short feathers on the neck, which determines their name.
The birds of this species live in North Africa.
White crow
It is not a separate species of crow. Such crows can appear among representatives of any species as a result of a special mutation - albinism.
Albino crows retain all the characteristic features of their species, except for color.
crow breeding
Crows mature at about 2 years of age. They choose their couple only once and spend their whole lives with a partner.
Crows living in settlements nest in parks, on power lines. Outside settlements, nests are located mainly in mountain crevices. Both birds usually participate in the construction of the future house.
The clutch may contain from 3 to 8 eggs, depending on the type of bird. Hatching of eggs occurs within 20 days.
Throughout the entire period, only the female incubates the eggs, and the male feeds his partner.
Both birds take part in feeding the hatched chicks. The first plumage appears a month after birth. After becoming on the wing, parents take care of their chicks for another month.
Then the chicks leave the parental nest, but retain family ties and sometimes help their parents raise the next offspring.
Keeping a crow at home
The crow is a difficult bird to care for. Take a pet should be at a young age, or a chick.
Crow food should never be salted! Also, the bird must be washed regularly and allowed to take sunbaths.
To tame a domestic crow, in addition to basic care, you need to devote time to walking and training. This must be done at least 2-3 hours a day.
You can also train a crow to fly free and return home. To do this, you first need to release a crow with specially provided straps on its paws, and when the bird begins to trust the owner and obey him, you can let it go without straps, and this smart bird will definitely come back.
crow photo
Amazing raven bird. Thanks to the ability to adapt to almost any conditions of existence, it has spread throughout the planet, and its gloomy silhouette in the sky is familiar to every person. For some, a raven is a harbinger of misfortune, but for someone it is a symbol of wisdom and patience. His image is widespread in mythology, fiction, music and cinematography.
For centuries, people have been accustoming the raven as a pet, noting the intelligence unusual for a bird. At some point, their population on the planet declined greatly, but today the common raven is taken under protection by many countries and its numbers have begun to grow again.
Raven Description
The Latin name for the bird is Corvus corax.. The species was first described by naturalist Carl Liney in 1758. To date, ornithologists distinguish up to 11 subspecies of the raven, but the differences between them in terms of phenotype are minimal and are due to the habitat rather than a genetic feature.
Raven refers
- kingdom - animals;
- type - chordates;
- class - birds;
- detachment - passerines;
- family - corvidae;
- genus - crows;
- species - common raven.
The closest relatives of the bird are the American white-necked crow, the piebald and desert brown-headed raven, while outwardly it has the most resemblance to the rook.
Appearance
The raven is the largest representative of the passeriformes. The length of its body reaches 70 cm, and the wingspan is up to 150 cm. The weight of the bird can be 800-1600 g, however, it is not uncommon for ornithologists to describe ravens with a body weight of up to 2 kg. The difference in length and mass depends on the habitat - the colder the climate, the larger the individuals living in it. That is, the largest representatives of ravens can be found in the northern latitudes or in the mountains.
It is interesting! A distinctive feature of the raven is a massive sharp beak and feathers protruding like a fan on the bird's throat. In flight, a crow can be distinguished from others by the wedge-shaped tail.
Male crows are larger than females. It is almost impossible to distinguish them by color - both the female and the male are black in color with a metallic sheen. The top of the body has a blue or purple hue, and the bottom is green. Juveniles are characterized by black matte plumage. The legs of the bird are powerful, with large curved black claws. If necessary, both they and the wide curved beak will become a weapon for attacking the enemy.
Lifestyle and intelligence
Unlike urban gray crows, the common crow is a resident of forest expanses and prefers old coniferous forests. He lives in isolated pairs, only by autumn forming small flocks of 10-40 individuals in order to fly to a new place in search of food. At night, the bird sleeps in its nest, and hunts all day. If necessary, one flock can organize an attack on another and recapture the territory within which it will get food.
It is interesting! Birds prefer to nest in the forest, however, for the winter they like to move closer to a person, for example, to city dumps or cemeteries. There they are more likely to find something to eat and survive the cold.
Raven is a smart bird. It has the same percentage of brain to body as . Scientists even claim that they have intelligence. To confirm this fact, many experiments were carried out, giving the bird the opportunity to reveal mental abilities. One of the more illustrative tests was based on Aesop's fable "The Crow and the Jar". The birds were placed in a room where there was a pile of pebbles and a narrow vessel with worms that floated in a small amount of water.
The birds could not freely get to the delicacy, and then the intellect came to their aid. The crows began throwing stones at the vessel, thereby raising the water level to reach the worms. The experiment was repeated four times with different birds, and they all coped with the task - to get to the food. At the same time, the birds did not just make rash actions, they threw pebbles until they could reach the worms, choosing larger stones, realizing that they were able to displace more water.
The raven language was also studied by scientists. It has been suggested that croaking is not just a chaotic noise, but a real conversation, and far from primitive. It would be too loud to call it a language, but scientists have come to the conclusion that ravens have something like dialects that change depending on the habitat halo. Another fact proving the intelligence of these birds is the memory that is passed down from generation to generation.
Just one bird killed by farmers can cause a flock to migrate. Ravens will remember the house or area where the danger arose for a long time and will try their best to avoid appearing near it. Another object of attention was the bird's inhibitory control, or rather the ability to control instinctive impulses for the sake of rational behavior. The crows were offered opaque tubes with holes in which the food was.
When they learned how to accurately find it, the pipes were replaced with transparent ones. Using self-control, the birds had to extract food without trying to get it directly by breaking through a transparent wall. Needless to say, they successfully coped with this test. Such exposure helps the crow to wait for hours for food without exposing itself to unnecessary danger.
How long do crows live
The life expectancy of a crow is affected by its habitat, so it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question of how long this bird lives. For urban birds and those living in the wild, the number of years lived will be very different.
It is interesting! The longer the raven lives, the more knowledge, skills and experience he will receive in his life. This bird does not forget anything and over the years becomes smarter and wiser.
Crows that nest within the city and regularly inhale harmful fumes from industrial areas, as well as eating leftovers in landfills, rarely boast a life expectancy of more than 10 years. However, in the city, the birds have practically no enemies, therefore, under favorable conditions, the raven can live up to 30 years. In nature, the raven lives for about 10-15 years. Rare individuals live up to 40, because every day the bird has to hunt for its own food and be exposed to many dangers, including the attack of other predators. A lean autumn and a cold winter can cause the death of an entire flock.
Arabs believe that the raven is an immortal bird. Ancient records claim that individuals have lived 300 years or more, and folk epics say that the raven lives nine human lives. Ornithologists treat such rumors with great doubt, however, they are sure that if favorable conditions are created for the bird in captivity, it may well live for 70 years.
What is the difference between a raven and a crow
There is an erroneous opinion among the people that a raven is a male, and a crow is a female of the same species. Ravens and crows are actually two different species belonging to the same corvid family. Such confusion in the Russian language appeared due to the similar pronunciation and spelling of bird names. There is no confusion in other languages. For example, in English, a crow is called "raven", and a crow sounds like "crow". If foreigners confuse these two birds, it is only because of their similar appearance.
It is interesting! Unlike ravens, ravens prefer to settle closer to humans. This makes it easier for them to get food. In the CIS countries, only the gray crow is found, which is not difficult to distinguish by the color of the body.
The black crow, which in fact can be mistaken for a crow, lives mainly in Western Europe and in the eastern part of Eurasia. The length and body weight of the bird is significantly inferior to the crow. Adult males weigh no more than 700 grams, and the body length does not reach 50 cm. There are differences in small things. The crow has no plumage on its crop, and during the flight you can notice that the tail of the bird is smoothly rounded, while in the raven it has a clear wedge-shaped ending.
The crow likes to gather in groups, while the crow keeps in pairs or alone. Birds can also be distinguished by ear. The croak of a crow is deep and guttural, sounds like "kaw!" or “arra!”, and the crow makes a nasal sound similar to a short “ka!”. The two species do not get along with each other - often a flock of crows attacks a lone crow.
Range, distribution
Ravens live almost throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, it can be found from Alaska to Mexico, in Europe in any country except France, as well as in Asia and North Africa. The bird prefers to settle on sea coasts, in deserts or even mountains. But most often the crow can be found in dense ancient forests, mainly spruce. In rare exceptions, the bird settles in city parks and squares.
In the northern part of Eurasia, the bird lives almost everywhere, with the exception of Taimyr, Yamala and Gadyn, as well as on islands in the Arctic Ocean. In the south, the nesting border passes through Syria, Iraq and Iran, Pakistan and northern India, China and the Russian Primorye. In Europe, the bird's habitat has changed significantly over the last century. Raven left the Western and Central parts, meeting there rather as an exception. In North America, the bird also appears less and less in the center of the continent, preferring to settle on the border with Canoda, in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine.
The raven was once widespread in New England, in the Adirondacks, Alleghenies and along the coast of Virginia and New Jersey, as well as in the Great Plains. Due to the mass extermination of wolves and bison, the fallen individuals of which the bird fed, the raven left these parts. Compared to other corvids, the common raven is almost not associated with the anthropogenic landscape. It is rarely seen in big cities, although flocks of crows have been seen in the parkland of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Riverside, as well as in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar.
In the second half of the 20th century, the crow began to be noticed in the north-west of Russia, for example, in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, in Moscow, Lvov, Chicago, London and Bern. The reason why the raven does not like to settle next to a person is not only due to the extra disturbance that is delivered to the bird, but most likely to the lack of suitable habitats and the presence of competitors.
Raven Diet
The diet of ravens is varied. By nature, they are predators, but carrion plays a key role in nutrition, mainly such large animals as deer and. For a long time, the bird is able to feed on dead fish, rodents and frogs. The raven is perfectly adapted to poor food regions and eats anything it can catch or find. In search of prey, he soars in the air for a long time, which is not typical for corvids. It hunts mainly game, no larger than a hare, for example, various rodents, lizards, snakes, birds.
Eats insects, mollusks, worms, sea urchins and scorpions. On occasion, it can destroy someone else's nest, by feeding it with seeds, grain, fruits of plants. Often, the raven becomes the cause of damage to farm crops. Another way of subsistence is to eat it with a clutch of eggs or young chicks. If necessary, the plant feeds on what a person leaves behind. A flock of crows is found in almost every major city dump.
Important! With an excess of food, the raven hides what is left from the meal in a secluded place or shares with the flock.
When hunting, the bird is very patient and is able to watch another animal hunt for hours in order to feast on the remains of its prey or track and steal stocks made. With food abundance, different individuals living nearby can specialize in different types of food.
American biologists observed such a pattern in Oregon. Birds nesting in the neighborhood were divided into those who ate plant food, those who hunted ground squirrels and those who collected carrion. Thus, competition was minimized, which allowed the birds to exist safely nearby.
