Identification & Description:
• Length: 14.5 inches
• Entirely black plumage
• Squared-off tail
• Range restricted to coastal areas from Alaska to Washington

Similar species:
American Crow is very similar but has different range. Common Raven is larger with wedge-shaped tail and different call.

Life History Groupings
• Migration Status: Permanent resident
• Nest Location: Mid-story/canopy nesting
• Clutch Size: 4-5
• Length of Incubation: ? days
• Days to Fledge: ?
• Number of Broods: 2?
• Diet:
Mostly: Aquatic Invertebrates, Insects & Carrion
Lesser Quantities of: Eggs

Facts
• The Common Raven is an acrobatic flier. It frequently is seen to make rolls and somersaults in the air. It has even been observed flying upside down for as far as one kilometer (0.62 mi).

• Breeding pairs of Common Ravens hold territories and try to exclude all other ravens throughout the year. In winter, young ravens finding a carcass will call other ravens to the prize. They apparently do this to overwhelm the local territory owners by force of numbers to gain access to the food.

• The Common Raven often uses sheep wool to line its nest. When the female leaves the nest for a while she may cover the eggs with the wool.

• Increasing raven populations can have significant negative effects on the populations of some vulnerable prey species, such as desert tortoises and Least Terns. Ravens can cause trouble for people too. Ravens have been implicated in causing power outages by contaminating insulators on power lines, fouling satellite dishes at the Goldstone Deep Space Site, peeling radar absorbent material off buildings at the Chinal Lake Naval Weapons center, pecking holes in airplane wings, and stealing golf balls.

Other Names
Grand corbeau (French)
Cuervo cumún, Cuervo grande (Spanish)

Crows belong to the family Corvidae of the order Passeriformes. The American crow is classified as Corvus brachyrhynchos, the northwestern crow as Corvus caurinus, the fish crow as Corvus ossifragus, and the Mexican crow as Corvus imparatus

All of the North American crows are black, with more or less of a glossy sheen, but several species from elsewhere are conspicuously marked with white or gray. The best known species is the ubiquitous American crow, which has become increasingly adapted to urban areas in the late 20th century. It is up to 50 cm (up to 20 in) long. A similar species, differing in voice, is the northwestern crow, confined to the Pacific coast from Alaska to Oregon. A smaller, glossier species, the fish crow, lives along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from New England to Texas and inland along major river systems. The tiny Mexican crow, also known as the Tamaolipas crow, is regularly seen in southeasternmost Texas.