Bird of the Month: Common raven

Scientific name:

Corvus corax 

How to identify:

Common ravens are entirely black, right down to the legs, eyes and beak. Not just large but massive, with a thick neck, shaggy throat feathers, and a bowie knife of a beak. In flight, ravens have long, wedge-shaped tails. They're more slender than crows, with longer, narrower wings, and longer, thinner “fingers” at the wingtips.

Habitat:

Common ravens live in open and forest habitats across western and northern North America. This includes deciduous and evergreen forests up to the treeline, as well as high desert, sea coast, sagebrush, tundra and grasslands. They do well around people, particularly rural settlements but also some towns and cities.

Where to find one:

Common ravens aren’t as social as crows; you tend to see them alone or in pairs except at food sources like landfills. Ravens are confident, inquisitive birds that strut around or occasionally bound forward with light, two-footed hops. In flight they are buoyant and graceful, interspersing soaring, gliding and slow flaps.

How to attract one to your yard:

You can attract ravens to your yard by leaving out large amounts of seed, grain or pet food (or simply by not putting the top securely on your garbage can). These tactics might cause more trouble than they’re worth, thoug —, attracting rodents and other pest animals or luring in ravens that may then raid nests in your yard.

Interesting fact:

People the world over sense a certain kind of personality in ravens. Edgar Allan Poe clearly found them a little creepy. The captive ravens at the Tower of London are beloved and perhaps a little feared: Legend has it that if they ever leave the tower, the British Empire will crumble. Native people of the Pacific Northwest regard the raven as an incurable trickster, bringing fire to people by stealing it from the sun, and stealing salmon only to drop them in rivers all over the world.

For more information on ravens, visit one of the three Moana Nursery store locations: 1100 W. Moana Ln. & 11301 S. Virginia St., Reno and 7644 Pyramid Hwy., Sparks.

Carmel Ruiz-Hilton is manager of Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shops at Moana Nursery in Reno/Sparks