Raucous Crows from the tree tops

I have found it fascinating, skywatching nearby crows and ravens. The genus Corvus, includes the most intelligent of the birds, including the use of tools, and demonstrating above average intelligence.

The genus includes jackdaws, crows and ravens, and magpies (the latter of which: are absent in Muskoka!).

I wanted to understand the difference between the American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and the Northern Raven (Corvus corax) , both of which share Muskoka's ecosystem, according to Peterson's Field Guide.

On a cloudy day, they are a stark reminder of the beauty of light and shadows, as their image is reproduced in open water between ice floes.

American Crow	Northern Raven
43-53 cm (17-21”) Completely black, purplish in sunlight, with large, chunky, strong black bill and feet. Woodland, farmland, grove, shore As far north as mid/central Ontario (summer) and northern Ontario. A loud caw, cah or kahr	55-68 cm (22 – 27”) Wedge-shaped tail Hawk-like in its flight (gliding/circling) Roman nosed bill, goiter-like neckfeathers. Boreal and Mt. forests, coastal cliffs, tundra. Does not venture much to southern Ontario. Croaking cr-r-ruck or prruk, metallic tok

Why, you might wonder, does it matter? Crow, raven...well having been corrected a couple of times, I really began to wonder. I still wonder, BTW! This video show the difference in size.

I was listening to a fascinating story on CBCs IDEAS program.They were speaking with a researcher who found that the ravens passed on learned behaviour: harrassing the researchers who had previously banded generations of birds years ago.

This is an excellent post on ravens of the north.

They are considered the most intelligent of the birds^[3][4] having demonstrated self-awareness in mirror tests (European Magpies) and tool making ability (Crows, Rooks^[5])—skills until recently regarded as solely the province of humans and a few other higher mammals.

Corvids are found worldwide except for the tip of South America and the polar ice caps. The majority of the species are found in tropical South and Central America.

They are all over the streets in town. And have been a problem in cities, too.

Talk to the animals...this is what they/we sound like!





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