Re: Great Tailed Grackles, Mourning Doves, and Me

On Mon, 12 May 2008 23:43:09 -0400, Sean Houtman <grommit383@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:

>Snidely <Snidely.too@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in news:4d4a489c-e409-4d25-83aa-
>dfa941fce772@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> 
>> How would I know if I have crows or ravens?  Is it the size, or the
>> shape of the attack formation.
>> 
>
>There is something about the shape of the tail in flight, one is 
>triangular, the other is rhomboidal, I always forget which.
>
>The most obvious difference is that the raven stands nearly twice as tall

>as a crow. Perhaps 16 inches for a raven, and about 9 inches for a crow.
>
In flight, the end of a raven's tail is wedge-shaped, while a crow's
is square. Ravens tend to soar while crows flap steadily. And ravens
are more solitary or in pairs, while crows move in flocks. Both birds
make all sorts of sounds but crows generally have the high-pitched
"caw caw caw" constantly, while a raven is generally content with the
odd low-pitched "skrawk".

On the ground or perched, a raven is big. The size of a large duck or
chicken. When you see a raven in front of you you'll know it; if
you're not sure, it's probably a crow.

-- 
Bill in Vancouver