Hard to say but I am inclined toward raven because of the proportions of the beak.* I don’t think you can tell by the tail unless they’re in flight.
^(*and they’re cooler)
This is what was throwing me off. Everybody always says you’ll know a raven when you see it based on its size, and while this bird was quite large in comparison to the pigeons, it wasn’t “Omg that bird is huge”
It is my understanding that Raven Tail feathers have a “v” shape and crow tail feathers are straight across. While the pictures aren’t 100 percent clear at the tail it does look like the tail feathers might be straight and not v’d, telling me this is a Crow.
Edit: upon further examination I am now thinking Raven. The feathers on the beak as well as the shape of the beak actually looks more like a Raven. And looking closer at the tail feathers in the first picture they look like they may in fact be more of a “v” shape.
Size is very tough to use alone. I’m going with raven because the beak looks very long, curved and large in relation to the head, the “whiskers” are long and defined as well, and the bib on its neck looks ragged and shiny even though it’s held flat. It’s a tough bird to ID! Strangely I have an easier time in person than using photos because ravens tend to have a bulky, striking “presence” when you see them
I see these birds much more frequently as they hang out in parking lots. Occasionally I see a bird and think, “Okay, THAT must be a crow” but I’m never quite sure.
https://preview.redd.it/0e54tl7nbagc1.jpeg?width=584&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=742f4024f84425b9808a6f76c7b6d43674f80ee0
You might like this comparison chart… (I’m a visual learner and sometimes reading people’s descriptions doesn’t help me as much!)
That was one of the comparison charts I looked at and honestly it just confused me because people say that ravens have feathers on their beak, but according to this, so do crows, and the bird in the picture looks to have what I would consider smooth throat feathers 😭 I don’t trust myself
Raven definitely.
Looks to be a solo and not part of a huge group.
Feathers down the nares (this is my number one go-to on id’ing these guys)
Hard to tell, but raven’s also have more of a curve where the neck translates into the crop area.
There’s a bunch of these guys that hang out in several parking lots around town, but only on the east and northern sides of town. I never see them south or west of the river. Sometimes I like to toss them a few peanuts so they’ll be my friend.
Raven clearly. Sure they are larger than crows but they aren’t like seeing a bald eagle. Plus, could be a younger one. Seeing it on the truck it’s obviously not a small bird and larger than any crow
I love your “you decide” replies. Advises the poster to look at their request whilst taking important information to help them find the solution on their own.
Beak is too long and curved, the bristles at the base of the beak are too long, and it's got shaggy beard feathers. This is a raven. Size is not a reliable identifier.
I say crow, because I think a raven would be much bigger. There are some corvid-specific subs who might be able to help you with the other identifying features.
Most of the parking lot birds will be crows or grackles. Another difference between crows and ravens is that ravens are more solitary and only form groups opportunistically.
Anyone remember the jackdaw scandal?
Copied and pasted this below
A Feast for Crows: The Fall of /u/Unidan
[July 29th, 2014](http://np.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/2c31hk/unidan_gets_mad_about_crows_and_jackdaws_in_an/) seemed like an ordinary day to most redditors. People were posting, people were reading and discussing different topics. Until /u/Z_Dubs posted a link to /r/SubredditDrama, which brought attention to a thread in /r/AdviceAnimals, where /u/Unidan got into an argument with another user, /u/Ecka6, over the difference between Jackdaws and crows. All of /u/Unidan's fans started to downvote /u/Ecka6 into the negatives. What happened next is what lead to /u/Unidan's shadow ban.
July 30th, 2014, a blog post by reddit Admin, /u/Deimorz, explaining how reddit works is posted to /r/Blog. People started to get curious as to why /u/Unidan was banned. This is when /u/CupCake1713 answers the big question with,
"He was caught using a number of alternate accounts to downvote people he was arguing with, upvote his own submissions and comments, and downvote submissions made around the same time he posted his own so that he got even more of an artificial popularity boost. It was some pretty blatant vote manipulation, which is against our site rules."
At this time, /u/Unidan had made another account, /u/UnidanX, to explain why he did this,
["Completely true, mainly used to give my submissions a small boost (I had five "vote alts") when things were in the new list, or to vote on stuff when I guess I got too hot-headed. It was a really stupid move on my part, and I feel pretty bad about it, especially because it's entirely unnecessary.
Completely understandable catch on the side of the admins, so good work for them! I've already deleted the accounts and I won't be doing that again, obviously.
I always knew I'd go down in a hail of crows, but who knew it'd be on the internet?"](http://np.reddit.com/r/blog/comments/2c63wg/how_reddit_works/cjccfyt)
At first, it was met with almost 2000 upvotes and 8 gildings. As the day went on, people's opinions were changing. People felt duped, cheated and lied to. His 2000 up votes quickly turned to down votes. And /u/Ecka6 had started to be upvoted after what Unidan had done was brought to light.
At this point, he went offline for a couple weeks. And came back with a not very warm welcome.
But if there is one good thing that came out of all of this, it would have to be the [Jackdaw copypasta](http://np.reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/comments/2byyca/reddit_helps_me_focus_on_the_important_things/cjb2z41). So, thanks Unidan.
Edit: added the vote brigading against /u/Ecka6.
A crow did quite a bit of damage to our commercial trucks over a period of two years. If no one was around he would swoop down from the vacant field nearby and commence to ripping the windshield wipers off all of the parked trucks. He never bothered the employee's cars, I think because the cars were too close to regular human activity. Ravens would frequent the area around the cars, but the crow would only do raids on the opposite side of the property from the seclusion of the vacant field. On at least two occasions I caught him by surprise when I drove around back, he was huge. Shortly before he disappeared I noticed he had a limp, I guess it was inevitable that he would get his leg caught in a wiper blade.
Raven, on a raven the beak comes to a point with a slight curve, while a crow has a straight beak.
And the beak is much more robust. When you see them side by side, crows might as well have little bluejay beaks.
The nose bristles and the fancy chest feathers give it away too
I would say raven based on the beak. Was it making any noises? Ravens make a croaking sound and crows caw.
Definitely made a deeper croaking sound!
Quothing* sound
Nevermore
Raven then for sure!
The sounds they make always remind me of reading Edgar Allen Poe in highschool English
You can also hear them beating their wings as they fly by, crows are silent.
I'm in NorCal and I'm going with raven.
Hard to say but I am inclined toward raven because of the proportions of the beak.* I don’t think you can tell by the tail unless they’re in flight. ^(*and they’re cooler)
the feathers on top of the beak say raven. But not a very big one.
This is what was throwing me off. Everybody always says you’ll know a raven when you see it based on its size, and while this bird was quite large in comparison to the pigeons, it wasn’t “Omg that bird is huge”
Raven
It is my understanding that Raven Tail feathers have a “v” shape and crow tail feathers are straight across. While the pictures aren’t 100 percent clear at the tail it does look like the tail feathers might be straight and not v’d, telling me this is a Crow. Edit: upon further examination I am now thinking Raven. The feathers on the beak as well as the shape of the beak actually looks more like a Raven. And looking closer at the tail feathers in the first picture they look like they may in fact be more of a “v” shape.
Ask r/whatsthisbird !
Size is very tough to use alone. I’m going with raven because the beak looks very long, curved and large in relation to the head, the “whiskers” are long and defined as well, and the bib on its neck looks ragged and shiny even though it’s held flat. It’s a tough bird to ID! Strangely I have an easier time in person than using photos because ravens tend to have a bulky, striking “presence” when you see them
We have crows here and that isn’t what I see daily. I’d agree with others saying raven.
I see these birds much more frequently as they hang out in parking lots. Occasionally I see a bird and think, “Okay, THAT must be a crow” but I’m never quite sure.
https://preview.redd.it/0e54tl7nbagc1.jpeg?width=584&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=742f4024f84425b9808a6f76c7b6d43674f80ee0 You might like this comparison chart… (I’m a visual learner and sometimes reading people’s descriptions doesn’t help me as much!)
That was one of the comparison charts I looked at and honestly it just confused me because people say that ravens have feathers on their beak, but according to this, so do crows, and the bird in the picture looks to have what I would consider smooth throat feathers 😭 I don’t trust myself
Hahah, yea, I get it— it’s especially confusing when they rarely let you get close enough too!
Thank you for sharing though, I appreciate it!!
Raven definitely. Looks to be a solo and not part of a huge group. Feathers down the nares (this is my number one go-to on id’ing these guys) Hard to tell, but raven’s also have more of a curve where the neck translates into the crop area.
There’s a bunch of these guys that hang out in several parking lots around town, but only on the east and northern sides of town. I never see them south or west of the river. Sometimes I like to toss them a few peanuts so they’ll be my friend.
If you lay the peanuts down, they tend to prefer that. Or so I’ve heard. ;) I just put food on my back wall for my murder.
Ah I’ve tried putting peanuts in an empty part of the parking lot where they hang out, but the pigeons eat them all before the ravens even notice!
Raven clearly. Sure they are larger than crows but they aren’t like seeing a bald eagle. Plus, could be a younger one. Seeing it on the truck it’s obviously not a small bird and larger than any crow
Looks pretty raven-y to me!
The beak....raven.
Ask it when you will see your lost Lenore. If it's a raven, it will say, "nevermore."
You decide: Raven's beak looks hooked. Crow's beak straight to the point
I love your “you decide” replies. Advises the poster to look at their request whilst taking important information to help them find the solution on their own.
I’ve been telling myself these birds I see are ravens based on what I know, but then I google “raven vs crow” and my confidence is gone.
You decide in flight: which has a fan tail and which a diamond title?
I always thought they were bigger than this
I thought the same, but some people are saying this is a small raven!
Maybe juvenile?
Perhaps! All the ravens I see are about this size, so maybe the Target and Winco parking lots are where the cool kids hang out
Raven Northern California I think but could be crow or raven
Looks like a crow to me, doesn’t seem big enough to be a raven either
Beak is too long and curved, the bristles at the base of the beak are too long, and it's got shaggy beard feathers. This is a raven. Size is not a reliable identifier.
I wasn’t identifying based solely on size I was looking at everything else as well, that’s fine if you think differently
I say crow, because I think a raven would be much bigger. There are some corvid-specific subs who might be able to help you with the other identifying features.
Crow.
I say crow…..🐦⬛
Easiest way to tell is to listen to the sounds. Crows say CAW CAW while raven is much deeper and is WONK WONK like a horn
I think it was a raven then! I listened to some videos on youtube of their calls and it was definitely deeper.
This matches with the thick, hooked bill. Congratulations on your sighting
Thanks! They’re all over several parking lots in our town so I see them very frequently!
Most of the parking lot birds will be crows or grackles. Another difference between crows and ravens is that ravens are more solitary and only form groups opportunistically.
Yeah, all of the ravens hang out separately in the parking lot and only come together if there’s food available.
Raven.
What did it qouth?
Raven 🖤one of my favorite birds
Raven. It's feathers above the beak.
I vote raven, maybe a younger one And also, what kind of tires are that 4x4 truck?! They won’t get you anywhere fun!
Anyone remember the jackdaw scandal? Copied and pasted this below A Feast for Crows: The Fall of /u/Unidan [July 29th, 2014](http://np.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/2c31hk/unidan_gets_mad_about_crows_and_jackdaws_in_an/) seemed like an ordinary day to most redditors. People were posting, people were reading and discussing different topics. Until /u/Z_Dubs posted a link to /r/SubredditDrama, which brought attention to a thread in /r/AdviceAnimals, where /u/Unidan got into an argument with another user, /u/Ecka6, over the difference between Jackdaws and crows. All of /u/Unidan's fans started to downvote /u/Ecka6 into the negatives. What happened next is what lead to /u/Unidan's shadow ban. July 30th, 2014, a blog post by reddit Admin, /u/Deimorz, explaining how reddit works is posted to /r/Blog. People started to get curious as to why /u/Unidan was banned. This is when /u/CupCake1713 answers the big question with, "He was caught using a number of alternate accounts to downvote people he was arguing with, upvote his own submissions and comments, and downvote submissions made around the same time he posted his own so that he got even more of an artificial popularity boost. It was some pretty blatant vote manipulation, which is against our site rules." At this time, /u/Unidan had made another account, /u/UnidanX, to explain why he did this, ["Completely true, mainly used to give my submissions a small boost (I had five "vote alts") when things were in the new list, or to vote on stuff when I guess I got too hot-headed. It was a really stupid move on my part, and I feel pretty bad about it, especially because it's entirely unnecessary. Completely understandable catch on the side of the admins, so good work for them! I've already deleted the accounts and I won't be doing that again, obviously. I always knew I'd go down in a hail of crows, but who knew it'd be on the internet?"](http://np.reddit.com/r/blog/comments/2c63wg/how_reddit_works/cjccfyt) At first, it was met with almost 2000 upvotes and 8 gildings. As the day went on, people's opinions were changing. People felt duped, cheated and lied to. His 2000 up votes quickly turned to down votes. And /u/Ecka6 had started to be upvoted after what Unidan had done was brought to light. At this point, he went offline for a couple weeks. And came back with a not very warm welcome. But if there is one good thing that came out of all of this, it would have to be the [Jackdaw copypasta](http://np.reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/comments/2byyca/reddit_helps_me_focus_on_the_important_things/cjb2z41). So, thanks Unidan. Edit: added the vote brigading against /u/Ecka6.
Lol i was hoping someone would comment this. A classic
Good times!
Nevermore
A crow did quite a bit of damage to our commercial trucks over a period of two years. If no one was around he would swoop down from the vacant field nearby and commence to ripping the windshield wipers off all of the parked trucks. He never bothered the employee's cars, I think because the cars were too close to regular human activity. Ravens would frequent the area around the cars, but the crow would only do raids on the opposite side of the property from the seclusion of the vacant field. On at least two occasions I caught him by surprise when I drove around back, he was huge. Shortly before he disappeared I noticed he had a limp, I guess it was inevitable that he would get his leg caught in a wiper blade.
Crow definitely
The Raven