Raven is a bird from the corvid family, the genus of ravens.

Description

Carrion crows are often confused with ravens and rooks due to their coloration and other morphologically similar traits. But there are a number of signs that unconditionally indicate that the bird in front of us is a crow, some of them are features of the anatomical structure.

The body length of the black crow ranges from 48 to 56 cm in length, and the total body weight for males ranges from 700 to 800 g, for females it ranges from 460 to 550 g. The wingspan ranges from 90 to 105 cm, while the weight varies from 32 to 42 g, the length of an individual wing for males is from 27 to 30 cm, for females - from 25 to 27 cm.

General characteristics

A medium-sized bird from the corvid family, with dark iridescent plumage, a sharp voice and extraordinary analytical abilities and memory. Inhabits almost the entire globe, with the exception of the North and South Poles, South America, Central and Southern Africa and the islands. Omnivorous, has some semblance of a tongue. The bird is irreconcilable towards enemies, which it never forgets, and shows incredible aggression and cruelty towards them.

Habitat. Area

The habitat of crows is especially wide: these include forest areas, parks, mountainous and rocky areas, and steppes. Most of the natural habitat, both rural and steppe, is inhabited by crows.

They will not fail to fly to a new place, warmer, windless and dry, during the onset of cold weather and strive to cool, damp places with an abundance of water and food in the heat. But still, most black crows lead a more sedentary lifestyle, preferring to spend summer and winter in the same area. City dwellers

Appearance

The carrion crow is a rather small bird, but large for its group; it is not very dense visually. The shape of the wings is pointed and the tail is wedge-shaped with long tail feathers, but appear rounded in flight.

A massive pointed beak in the shape of a cone, which may have a certain hump, with an ossified, merging beak, is located on a small head with round black eyes, uncovered eyelids. The paws are thin, long, with one toe facing back and three toes facing forward. The plumage has a metallic tint, with violet, lilac, bluish and greenish tints in the light. At the base, the feathers are usually grayish.

Common raven- the largest bird not only in the corvid family, but also in the entire passerine order. Its body length is about 64 cm, and it can weigh up to 1.5 kg. The raven is easily recognized by its large size, general “crow-like” appearance and uniform black coloration with a metallic sheen. Noteworthy is the large and powerful beak of this bird and its unique voice - a guttural croak that has many shades and variations.

Throughout the year, crows stay in pairs. Hearing a hoarse “kru-kru” over the forest and looking around, you can almost always find the second bird with your eyes. Now crows have become the most common birds, and it’s rare to go out of town without seeing at least a couple of these birds. And there was a time when I specially traveled 75 km from Moscow to look at the ravens nesting in an old spruce forest near the station. Golitsyno.

Raven nesting

Crows begin nesting earlier than all our birds, with the exception of crossbills and rock pigeons, which can lay eggs even in the middle of winter. In the middle zone, they begin their spectacular aerial games over the forest already in January, and in March they begin building new or repairing old nests, which they sometimes use for many years. Nests are located in large trees, usually at a high altitude, often at least 20 m on the ground, so they are difficult to reach for observation. In recent decades, near Moscow, some crows have begun to build nests on metal masts of high-voltage transmission lines. In the east, in the steppe regions, I found raven nests under the roofs of tall wooden buildings, and in the north - on rock ledges. There are known cases of these birds nesting on bell towers and city towers.

The raven's nest is very similar to the nest of the common crow, only larger. The outside is made of dry, rather thick branches, and the inside is lined with wool. In central Russia, female crows lay their first eggs at the very beginning of March, and from then on they do not leave the nest. The male flies in from time to time to feed his brooding mate. A full clutch contains 3-7 eggs. They are greenish or grayish-bluish in color, with dark superficial and lighter deep spots scattered throughout. Externally, raven eggs are very similar to crow eggs, but noticeably larger. Their average size is 49.7×33.4 mm. Incubation lasts about 3 weeks. Young crows leave the nest at the end of May. Towards the end of the nesting cycle, the ground under the crow's nest is heavily soiled with white blotches of droppings. Here you can also find bird pellets, sometimes remnants of food brought by birds to their chicks, and, as a rule, at least 1-2 blue-black feathers they have lost.

Eating crow

Raven is a scavenger. Near slaughterhouses or at fishing and hunting grounds, these birds sometimes gather in large numbers. They are very brave predators. If the crow does not dare to attack an adult gray rat, then the raven fearlessly attacks it and kills it with several blows of its beak. You look, not even a couple of minutes have passed since the attack, and he is already carrying the killed rat to some secluded place where he will not be disturbed while eating. When, having had enough, the raven leaves this place, all that remains is blood-stained snow, trampled by its large paws. Usually he eats the entire animal without leaving a trace. Crows also decide to attack larger prey, for example, sick or wounded large birds and even hares.

Traces of a raven when moving at a walk (on the left) and in leaps

When carrion appears in the forest, the raven often knows about it by the excited chirping of magpies or the croaking of crows. However, he is careful and does not rush to abundant food, and descends from the tree only after he is convinced of complete safety. Despite its powerful beak, it is very difficult for him to peck through the strong skin of an elk or cow, so he begins to eat carrion after dogs or foxes gnaw through the skin, or if he himself discovers any wounds on the animal’s body. A raven will peck out the eyes of a dead sheep or dog, but it cannot do this of a large cow.

Raven pellets can be found not only under the nesting tree. Sometimes they can be found under trees and rocks where birds spend the night. They resemble crow pellets, which are found quite often, but in a raven they are larger - (6×2.2) - (4.3×2.7) cm. The pellets usually consist of the wool of eaten animals and bone fragments embedded in it. You often notice seeds of cultivated cereals in them. In the southern regions, there are raven pellets consisting entirely of some fruit, for example, semi-digested ephedra berries.

The droppings of these birds can either be in the form of a semi-liquid, blurred white blot, or in the form of a thicker short “sausage” of a dark color, but covered with a white coating at one end - it all depends on the food eaten. The size of such a “sausage” is about 4.5x0.8 cm.

Raven paw print

It’s not at all difficult to find traces of a raven’s paws; you just have to go out of town and walk across a field or along the edge of a forest. It is easy to notice various individual characteristics on his paw prints. You can, for example, pay attention to the fact that the prints left by different ravens differ noticeably in size. As a rule, larger prints belong to males, and smaller ones belong to females. The male leaves an imprint (11.4×4.8) - (12.5×5), and the female leaves about 10.5×4 cm. The length of the claws on the middle fingers is up to 1.7, and on the hind fingers - 2 cm. Moves crows either take measured steps 16-20 cm long, or oblique leaps, placing one paw slightly in front of the other.

Amazing bird raven. Thanks to its ability to adapt to almost any living conditions, it has spread throughout the planet, and its gloomy silhouette in the sky is familiar to every person. For some, the raven is a harbinger of misfortune, and for others it is a symbol of wisdom and patience. His image is widespread in mythology, fiction, music and cinema.

For centuries, people have adopted the raven as a pet, noting the bird's unusual intelligence. At some point, their population on the planet decreased greatly, but today the common raven has been taken under protection by many countries and its numbers have begun to grow again.

Description of the raven

The Latin name of the bird is Corvus corax. The species was first described by naturalist Carl Lynaeus in 1758. Today, ornithologists identify up to 11 subspecies of raven, but the differences between them in terms of phenotype are minimal and are determined by the area of ​​habitat rather than by genetic characteristics.

Raven refers

• kingdom - animals;
• type – chordates;
• class - birds;
• order - passerines;
• family - corvids;
• genus - crows;
• species - common raven.

The bird's closest relatives are the American white-necked crow, piebald and desert brown-headed raven, while in appearance it is most similar to the rook.

Appearance

The raven is the largest representative of passerines. 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 weight 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 northern latitudes or in the mountains.

This is interesting! A distinctive feature of the raven is its massive sharp beak and feathers protruding like a fan on the bird’s throat. In flight, a raven can be distinguished from others by its wedge-shaped tail.

Male ravens are larger than females. It is almost impossible to distinguish them by color - both the female and the male are black with a metallic tint. The body is blue or purple on top and green underneath. Young animals are characterized by matte black plumage. The bird's legs 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 forest dweller and prefers old coniferous forests. It 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 spends the whole day hunting. If necessary, one flock can organize an attack on another and recapture the territory within which it will obtain food.

This is interesting! Birds prefer to nest in the forest, however, in the winter they like to move closer to people, for example, to city landfills or cemeteries. There they have a better chance of finding something to eat and surviving the cold.

Raven is a smart bird. It has the same brain to body percentage as . Scientists even claim that they have intelligence. To confirm this fact, many experiments were conducted, giving the bird the opportunity to reveal its mental abilities. One of the most visual tests was based on Aesop's fable "The Crow and the Jug." The birds were placed in a room where there was a pile of pebbles and a narrow vessel with worms that swam in a small amount of water.

The birds could not freely get to the delicacy, and then intelligence came to their aid. The crows began throwing stones into 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 not only made rash actions, they threw pebbles until they managed to reach the worms, choosing larger stones, realizing that they could displace more water.

The crow language has also been studied by scientists. It was 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 their habitat. Another fact that proves the presence of intelligence in these birds is memory, which is passed on from generation to generation.

Just one bird killed by farmers can cause a flock to migrate. Crows will remember for a long time the house or area where danger arose and will try with all their might to avoid appearing near it. Another object of attention was the bird's inhibitory control, or more precisely the ability to control instinctive impulses for the sake of rational behavior. Crows were offered opaque tubes with holes containing food.

When they learned to find it accurately, the pipes were replaced with transparent ones. Using self-control, the birds had to extract the food without trying to get it directly by breaking through a transparent wall. Needless to say, they successfully completed this test. This endurance helps the raven wait for hours for food without exposing itself to unnecessary danger.

How long do crows live?

The lifespan of a raven is influenced by its habitat, so it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question of how long this bird lives. The number of years lived will be very different between urban birds and those living in the wild.

This is interesting! The longer a raven lives, the more knowledge, skills and experience he will gain during his life. This bird does not forget anything and becomes smarter and wiser over the years.

Crows that nest within the city and regularly inhale harmful fumes from industrial zones, as well as feed on scraps in landfills, can rarely boast a life expectancy of more than 10 years. However, in urban areas birds have practically no enemies, therefore, under favorable conditions, a raven can live up to 30 years. In nature, a raven lives about 10-15 years. Rare individuals live to be 40, because every day the bird has to hunt for its own food and be exposed to many dangers, including attacks from other predators. A lean autumn and cold winter can cause the death of an entire flock.

Arabs believe that the raven is an immortal bird. Ancient records speak of individuals living for 300 years or more, and folk tales say that the raven lives nine human lives. Ornithologists regard such rumors with great doubt, however, they are confident that if favorable conditions are created for the bird in captivity, it could well live 70 years.

What is the difference between a raven and a crow

There is a common misconception among people that a raven is a male and a crow is a female of the same species. In fact, raven and crow are two different species belonging to the same family of corvids. Such confusion in the Russian language arose due to the similar pronunciation and spelling of the names of birds. 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.

This is interesting! Unlike ravens, ravens prefer to settle closer to humans. This makes it easier for them to get food for themselves. In the CIS countries, only the hooded crow is found, which is not difficult to distinguish by the color of its body.

The carrion crow, which can actually be mistaken for a crow, lives primarily in Western Europe and eastern Eurasia. The length and body weight of the bird is significantly inferior to the crow. Adult males weigh no more than 700 grams, and their body length does not reach 50 cm. There are differences in small details. The crow has no feathering on its crop, and during the flight you can notice that the bird's tail is smoothly rounded, while the raven's tail has a clear wedge-shaped ending.

The crow likes to gather in groups, while the raven stays in pairs or alone. Birds can also be distinguished by hearing. The caw of a raven 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 raven.

Area, distribution

The raven lives throughout almost the entire 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, 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 Primorye Russia. 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 often in the center of the continent, preferring to settle on the border with Canada, in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine.

The crow was once widespread in New England, the Adirondack Mountains, the Alleghenies and the coasts of Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the Great Plains region. Due to the mass extermination of wolves and bison, the dead animals of which the bird fed on, the raven left these regions. Compared with other corvids, the common raven is almost not associated with the anthropogenic landscape. It is rarely seen in large cities, although flocks of ravens have been spotted in parkland in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Riverside, as well as in the Mongolian capital 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, Moscow, Lvov, Chicago, London and Bern. The reason why the raven does not like to settle near a person is associated not only with the unnecessary anxiety that is caused to the bird, but most likely with the lack of suitable habitats and the presence of competitors.

Raven diet

The diet of ravens is varied. They are predators by nature, but carrion plays a key role in their diet, 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 food-poor regions and eats everything it can catch or discover. In search of prey, it 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, and birds.

Eats insects, mollusks, worms, sea urchins and scorpions. On occasion, it can destroy someone else's nest by feeding on seeds, grains, and plant fruits. Crows often cause damage to farm crops. Another way of feeding is to eat it when laying eggs or young chicks. If necessary, the plant feeds on what a person leaves behind. A flock of ravens is found in almost every major city landfill.

Important! When there is an excess of food, the raven hides what is left from the meal in a secluded place or shares it with the flock.

During the hunt, 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 the supplies it has made. When there is food abundance, different individuals living nearby can specialize in different types of food.

American biologists observed such a picture in Oregon. The birds nesting in the neighborhood were divided into those who ate plant foods, those who hunted gophers and those who collected carrion. In this way, competition was kept to a minimum, which allowed the birds to exist safely nearby.

Crow is a bird belonging to the passerine order, the corvid family, genus O rona (lat. Corvus).

Previously, in Rus' the crow was called “vrana”. According to linguists, the name of the bird is most likely consonant with the words “witch,” “enemy,” “enemy.”

Crow: description, characteristics and photos. What does the bird look like?

Crows are the largest representatives of the passerine order. The length of the bird varies between 48-56 cm. The male is larger than the female, the weight of the male is 700-800 grams, females weigh from 460-550 grams. The length of the wing of a male crow reaches 27-30 cm; the wings of a female crow grow from 25 to 27 cm. The strong wings of most species have a pointed shape. The wingspan of a crow is about 1 m.

The appearance of the crow is similar to the rook, but differs in a denser physique.

The crow's tail is wedge-shaped, with long tail feathers. The bird's beak is powerful and sharp, conical in shape, and in some species has a characteristic high bend. The crow's legs are thin and long, with four toes: 1 facing back, 3 facing forward.

Most crow species have gray or black plumage that glows metallic, purple, violet or green in the sun. The base of the feather is usually gray, in rare cases white.

The crow's voice is high, hoarse, sometimes rough and guttural, reminiscent of laughter. The “crow language” is very developed, sounds of different tones are used during mating games, for notification of a general gathering, swearing, threats, and also alarm signals.

How many years do crows live?

The lifespan of a crow in nature is 15-20 years. In captivity, some crows live up to 35-40 years. The oldest crow's officially documented age was 59 years, which is rare.

Where do crows live?

The habitat is quite extensive: the crow bird is found in almost all countries of Europe and Asia, North America, North Africa and Australia.

Most crows are sedentary in urban, rural or natural landscapes. Sedentary-nomadic species of crows, which live at the northern borders of their range, move to areas with a more benign climate for the winter.

What do crows eat?

Solitary by nature, crows are active hunters, who sometimes team up with relatives to capture prey or organize a common feast. Being scavengers, a flock of crows is capable of accompanying feathered predators for a long time, and also for the sake of their prey or its remains. Crows are omnivores and eat absolutely anything that they think will be edible. The crow's diet includes any insects (,), worms, eggs of other bird species and their chicks, fish, small rodents (and).

All kinds of food waste are the usual and favorite food of crows, so large concentrations of these birds are often observed in city landfills. The crow feeds on insect larvae swarming in the dung.

In the absence of animal food, the crow eats plants and their seeds, fruits and vegetables.

Types of crows, names and photographs

The genus includes several species of crows:

• black crow(lat. Corvus corone)

It has black plumage, as well as black legs, feet and beak. Therefore, the bird is often confused with the rook. However, the plumage of the carrion crow has a much greener tint than that of the rook, and sometimes even a purple tint. The body length of an adult is 48-52 cm.

The species' range covers the territory of Western and Central Europe, where the black crow lives together with one of its subspecies - the eastern black crow (lat. Corvus corone orientalis), which lives in East Asia. In Russia, black crows nest in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

• Hoodie(lat. Corvus cornix)

According to one classification, the hooded crow is a separate species, according to another, it is a subspecies of the black crow. The length of the bird reaches 50 cm and weighs 460-735 grams. The hoodie differs from the rook in its larger wing width and especially pronounced beak slope. The body is painted gray. The head, chest, wings and tail of the hoodie are black with a slight metallic tint.

The hooded crow lives in Eastern and Central Europe, Scandinavian countries, Asia Minor and throughout Russia, from the western part to the Kara Sea.

• Australian Crow(lat. Corvus coronoides)

It is the largest of three related species found in Australia. The crow's body length is 46-53 cm, and its weight is on average 650 g. The crow's black plumage has a blue-violet or blue-green sheen. A distinctive feature of all crows living in Australia is the white iris of the eyes and pronounced neck feathers. The throat of young individuals is covered with such sparse feathers that pink skin shows through between them.

The Australian crow lives in Sydney and Canberra.

• South Australian Crow(lat. Corvus mellori)

It is distinguished by its completely black plumage, long wings and a thin, strongly curved beak. A medium-sized species, the length of an adult crow is 48-50 cm. According to some scientists, the bird prefers only plant foods.

The South Australian crow lives in southeastern Australia, as well as on King and Kangaroo Islands.

• Bronze Crow(lat. Corvus crassirostris)

Originally called the vulture crow. Large representatives of the species have a body length of 60-64 cm. The beak of the bronze crow is quite large and exceeds the length of the head. The crow's coloration is completely black, with a single white spot on the back of its head. The tail of a crow of this species is characterized by a stepped arrangement of feathers.

The bronze crow lives in the mountains and high plateaus of East Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, as well as Sudan and Somalia.

• White-necked Crow(lat. Corvus cryptoleucus)

A typical representative of the genus, distinguished by the white bases of the feathers on the neck. The body length of an adult is 50 cm. This species of crow is common in the southeastern United States and northern Mexico.

• Big-beaked crow(lat. Corvus macrorhynchos)

The bird has a very large beak. The size of the crow depends on its habitat: representatives of the northern populations are larger than the southern ones, have a large beak and well-developed feathers on the neck. On average, the length of adult crows is 46-59 cm, and their weight reaches 1.3 kg. The body is covered with dark gray feathers. The wings, tail and head of the great-billed crow are black, with a purple or green tint.

The species includes 15 subspecies living in continental Asia and the Russian Far East, as well as inhabiting the islands of the Philippines, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Hokkaido, Yakushima and many others.

• Bristle Crow(lat. Corvus rhipidurus)

It grows up to 47 cm in length and is very similar to a black crow. However, the bird has a characteristically thick beak, long wings, a shortened tail and very short throat feathers. The species of bristly crows is distinguished by its glossy black color and characteristic purple-blue feathers and paws. The raven's feathers on the back of its head have a white base.

The habitat of this bird species begins in the Middle East, passes through the northern part of the African continent, along the Arabian Peninsula, through Kenya and Sudan to the Sahara Desert.

• Bangay crow(lat. Corvus unicolor)

The smallest crow of this genus, growing to only 39 cm in length. The species is characterized by black feathers and a short tail.

The least studied species of crow, found exclusively on Peleng Island in Indonesia. The species has endangered status and, according to scientists, the population today contains from 30 to 200 individuals.

White crows are very rare in nature - the result of mutation-albinism.

An albino can appear in any species group and will differ from its relatives only in its white plumage and extreme vulnerability.

How do crows reproduce?

At the age of 2 years, most crow species are ready to breed. Crows are monogamous birds and choose a mate for the rest of their lives. The mating games of a male and female crow are distinguished by intricate aerial turns, chases and somersaults. The most common species of these birds breed in early to mid-spring.

On the left is a female crow, on the right is a male crow

Crows make nests in forest parks and squares; they are laid in the forks of strong tree branches, on power line supports, cranes, and behind drains. Species that live in steppe and semi-desert landscapes make nests in crevices of rocks and cliffs. Both future parents usually take part in the construction, painstakingly constructing a nest from twigs and twigs. The crow's nest does not exceed 0.5 meters in diameter and has a height of 20-30 cm. Turf, clay, and often pieces of wire are used for fastening. The bottom of the nest is lined with feathers, down, dry grass, cotton wool and rags.

Depending on the type of bird, the clutch contains 3-6 or 4-8 eggs of light green or bluish color with dark spots. The female crow incessantly incubates the clutch for 17-20 days. The male crow feeds his companion and takes care of her throughout the entire period of hatching the eggs.

After 25 days, naked crow chicks are born, provided with food by both parents. The cubs fledge a month after birth.

You should not try to pick up a crow chick that has accidentally fallen from the nest. The parents make a terrible noise, calling their relatives with shouts, and zealously protect the cub. A flock of crows attacks a dangerous alien, be it animal or human.

At the beginning of summer, the crow's offspring begin to fly out of the nest, and for the first month they remain with their parents, who continue to care for them. In July, the young animals finally leave their native nest.

However, family ties remain, and sometimes the offspring of past years, instead of creating their own family, help their parents feed and raise their brothers and sisters.

It’s even strange, but large and noisy crows are the closest relatives of small, modest sparrows. All of them are representatives of the passerine order, which includes about 310 species. Bird black raven - including.

Who is the black raven

The black raven is not only a long-liver among birds, but also a very intelligent, developed representative of birds

Of all the ravens, the black raven is a bird whose image is shrouded in gloomy beliefs and omens.

Indeed, a large bird with a body length of up to 65 cm and a black color with a blue-green tint inspires unaccountable fear. The whole body is densely covered with feathers. The feathers on the throat are pointed and bristling. The sharp and strong beak is also black. Not a single light spot - even his eyes are dark brown. The paws are strong, with large, curved gray claws. Wedge-shaped tail. This is especially noticeable when flying. There are 10 subspecies of the black raven, which vary in size.

Crow lifestyle

Black crows live on the continents of Eurasia, North America and nearby islands. They are also found in northern Africa.

Listen to the raven's voice

Raven is a free bird of forest spaces. It rarely tries to fly up to human habitation, unlike hooded crows. Prefers old coniferous forests. Like the trees of these forests, it can live up to 200 years. And like an owl, they called him wise - apparently, since he lives a lot, sees a lot and knows a lot.

The bird is nomadic; these birds fly in flocks of 10 to 40 individuals. The purpose of flights is one - search for food. Sometimes the flock size can be only 5 or 7 birds. They move up to 200 km.

The raven is classified as an omnivorous bird. The main food is carrion. A raven flies over the forest and carefully examines all the clearings and depressions. As soon as he sees a dead fish thrown out of the river or the remains of a deer that the wolf did not eat, he begins to scream loudly. So he calls all the other brothers, reports that he has found food.

Crows are very loyal and faithful birds. Like swans, they mate for life

They can fly to livestock slaughter sites and eat up all the remains. Due to the nature of their food, the raven, like the wolf, is called the forest orderly.

They also eat any insects, insectivorous animals, hares, and any rodents. Voles are especially preferred. They destroy the nests of small birds, eating eggs, chicks and even the birds themselves. By eating harmful insects such as the cockchafer, they bring great benefits to the forest

How do crows breed?

Crows mate at the age of two and last a lifetime. They most often have two nests, which are used in different years. If the nest is destroyed, a new one is built next to this place from thick branches and covered with wool. Usually a new couple looks for a place to build in a spruce or aspen forest. In the south - in oak groves. Happens in February.
There can be from 4 to 7 eggs. The eggs are beautifully blue and green in color with speckles. The parents feed the chicks with their usual food. In May, the chicks fly out of the nest.

Young crows roam with the old ones until autumn.

This is interesting!

Probably because of its black color and preference for carrion, people associated this bird with death. However, the raven is nature's orderly. Very smart orderly

• Black crows can not only croak, but also make trumpeting, guttural sounds.
• To attract the attention of its relatives, the raven takes an object in its beak and demonstrates it in every possible way.
• The raven is patient; it can sit for a long time, ruffled, waiting for the outcome of the event.
• It is considered a very smart bird. For example, in one of the experiments, in order to get drunk, a raven thought of throwing stones into a jug to raise the water level. When he saw that the water did not rise if plastic was thrown there, he threw it out of the jug with his beak. Only great apes exhibit such intelligence.
• Crows are easily tamed and are very loyal to their keepers. They are able to imitate a person’s voice, which greatly entertains their owners.
• Since it feeds on carrion, among people this bird is a symbol of death.