It is difficult to tell the difference between a raven and a crow. Un corbeau ou une corneille. Corvus corax & corvus brachyrhynchos, corvus caurinus on the Island here. Or the white ravens in Qualicum Beach!
- A raven is bigger than a crow. Maybe 25% bigger?
- A raven has a ruffled throat, wicked haidoo, and stronger thicker beak than a crow…
- A raven will walk like a penguin, with a sideways motion — a crow will walk like a chicken, bobbing its head.
- A raven in flight has rounded tail feathers, like a fan or even a diamond — a crow has a squared tail, more or less like a triangle.
- A raven will toc-toc-toc, croak or kwawk or even sound like a bell — a crow will caw.
- A raven hops repeatedly to take off — a crow jumps directly into the air
- And both are extremely intelligent, and fascinating creatures to watch.
Even with all of the above differences listed, I still have difficulty identifying them, unless I am very close to these birds. Black on black, I needed a white outline on this one.
Raven tessellation by Francine Champagne, ©2016 — Symétruc de corbeau
A novel, Raven’s End, by canadian author Ben Gadd. That was an excellent read. If there are any experts out there, let me know if I have my facts straight! Here is the zoomed-out version of the tessellation.
Raven tessellation by Francine Champagne, ©2016 — Symétruc de corbeau
2018-10-18; Just a minor tweak to the colours helps the viewer see the creatures a bit better.
Raven Zen tessellation with a colour shift by Francine Champagne, ©2016 — Symétruc de corbeau