The
Australian Raven (
Corvus coronoides) is the largest
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n member of the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
Corvus and one of three Australian species commonly known as ravens. It is a more slender bird than the
Common RavenThe Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird in the crow family. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
of the Northern Hemisphere but is otherwise similar. It has all-black plumage, beak and legs with a white iris, as do the other
Corvus members in Australia and some species from the islands to the north.
The
Australian Raven (
Corvus coronoides) is the largest
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n member of the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
Corvus and one of three Australian species commonly known as ravens. It is a more slender bird than the
Common RavenThe Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird in the crow family. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
of the Northern Hemisphere but is otherwise similar. It has all-black plumage, beak and legs with a white iris, as do the other
Corvus members in Australia and some species from the islands to the north. It is distinguished by its prominent throat hackles and grey bases of its black feathers.
It is omnivorous and has adapted well to urban environments and is a common city bird in Sydney and Melbourne.
Taxonomy and naming
The Australian Raven was first described by
Nicholas Aylward VigorsNicholas Aylward Vigors was an Irish zoologist and politician.Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford. He served in the army during the Peninsular War from 1809 to 1811...
and
Thomas HorsfieldThomas Horsfield M. D. was an American physician and naturalist.Horsfield was born in Philadelphia and studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1800 he travelled to Java for the first time and worked there as a doctor for many years...
in 1827; its specific epithet
coronoides "crow-shaped" is derived from the
GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
corone/κορονη "crow" and
eidos/ειδος "shape" or "form". The two naturalists regarded the Australian Raven as very similar in appearance to the
Carrion CrowThe Carrion Crow is a member of the passerine order of birds and the crow family which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia.-Taxonomy:...
(
C. corone) of Europe.
Although called a raven, its closest affinities lie with the other four species of Australian corvid, which include the
Torresian CrowThe Torresian Crow , also occasionally called the Australian Crow or Papuan Crow in those respective countries, is an Australasian member of the crow genus...
and Little Crow as well as the
Forest RavenThe Forest Raven is a large all-black species of the crow genus native to Southeastern Australia and Tasmania.-Description:The Forest Raven is 50–52 cm in length with glossy black plumage and a white iris...
and
Little RavenThe Little Raven was only separated in 1967 from the Australian Raven as a distinct species. The most significant difference of several is its voice. On average a little smaller than the Australian Raven , though sizes do overlap between both species...
.
Alternate names sometimes seen include
Southern Raven,
Southern Crow, and
Kelly. It was called
wugan by the local
EoraThe traditional owners of the inner Sydney City region of Australia are the Cadigal people, one of the peoples who belong to the Eora language group. Their land south of Port Jackson stretches from South Head to Petersham. The word Eora simply means "here" or "from this place"...
and
DarugThe Darug people are a language group of Indigenous Australians, who are traditional custodians of much of what is modern day Sydney. There is some dispute about the extent of the Darug nation. Some historians believe the coastal Eora people were a separate tribe to the Darug...
inhabitants of the Sydney basin.
Two subspecies are recognised-
C. c. coronoides, the nominate subspecies, is found across most of eastern Australia, while
C. c. perplexus occurs from the head of the Great Australian Bight in South Australia westwards into Western Australia where its northern limits are Shark Bay and the mulga-eucalypt boundary line. Intermediate birds are found in the Eyre Peninsula, Gawler Ranges and vicinity of Lake Eyre in South Australia.
Description
At 52 cm (20 in) in length, the adult Australian Raven is an all black bird with black feet and beak and a white iris. The plumage is glossy with a blue-purple to blue-green sheen, greenish over the ear coverts, depending on light. The underparts are not glossy. Its throat feathers (hackles) are longer than those of other species. It can be distinguished from the two species of crow occurring in Australia by the grey base of the feathers, which is white in the latter species. Juveniles resemble adults, but have dark eyes, shorter throat hackles, and sometimes have a pink fleshy gape.
The territorial call of the Australian Raven is a slow, high
ah-ah-ah-aaaah with the last note drawn out. It will use this call to communicate with other Australian Ravens in the area.
Distribution and habitat
The Australian Raven is common throughout eastern, southern Australia and southern
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
(the populations being connected by a narrow strip across the
Nullarbor PlainThe Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country immediately north of the Great Australian Bight. The word Nullarbor is derived from the Latin nullus, "no", and arbor, "tree", and is . It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an...
) but not found in the far north. It has adapted very well to human habitation in some cities and is a common bird in urban
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
, and
Rottnest IslandRottnest Island is located 18 km off the coast of Western Australia, near Fremantle. It is called Wadjemup by the Noongar people, meaning "place across the water". The island is 11 kilometres long, and 4.5 kilometres at its widest point with a total land area of 19 km². It is classified as an A...
.
Behaviour
In rural areas a single breeding pair and their brood will occupy about a square kilometre territory, whilst in urban areas over ten times as many ravens can search for food in the same square kilometre.
Diet
Food consists of carrion, insects, seeds, fruit, small reptiles, nestlings and eggs. The preference ratio is 34% carrion, 42% invertebrates and 24% plant material. Food is taken mainly from the ground but will occasionally feed in trees. Ravens have adapted well to eating rubbish and scraps in urban areas, such as school playgrounds. In one isolated study they were observed feeding on nectar from
eucalyptEucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
flowers.
Reproduction
Breeding season is from July to September. Ravens always nest in tall trees, never near to the ground as some species do. Nests are generally large and untidy, consisting of a bowl or platform of sticks lined with grasses, barks, and feathers.
A clutch can comprise 3-6 eggs, though usually 4 or 5 are laid. Measuring 45x30 mm (1¾x1¼ in), eggs are pale green or bluish-green splotched with darker olive, brown and blackish markings.
IncubationIncubation is the process by which birds hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of sitting on eggs to incubate...
of the eggs is done solely by the female over roughly 20 days. Only one brood is raised per year. Fledged by 45 days and staying with parents for about four months after that.
Relationship with Humans
The Australian Raven is frequently blamed for the loss of young lambs or kids. Scientific observation in the country's southeast showed that the killing of healthy lambs was rare but that sick animals were predisposed to being attacked.
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