Editing Raven

{{Short description|Collection of birds with the same common name}}
{{about|species known as ravens in general|the common raven of the Northern Hemisphere|Common raven}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
[[File:3782 Common Raven in flight.jpg|thumb|right|Common raven of North America (''Corvus corax principalis'') in flight]]
A '''raven''' is any of several large-bodied [[passerine]] [[bird]] species in the genus ''[[Corvus]]''. These species do not form a single [[Taxon|taxonomic group]] within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between [[crow]]s and ravens; the two names are assigned to different species chiefly by size.

The largest raven species are the [[common raven]] and the [[thick-billed raven]]; these are also the largest passerine species.

==Etymology==
The term ''raven'' originally referred to the [[common raven]] (''Corvus corax''), the widespread species of the [[Northern Hemisphere]].

The modern English word ''raven'' has cognates in all other [[Germanic languages]], including [[Old Norse]] (and subsequently [[Icelandic language|modern Icelandic]]) {{lang|non|hrafn}}<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'' entry for "raven".</ref> and [[Old High German]] {{lang|goh|(h)Raban}},<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Raven |encyclopedia=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |editor=Simpson, J. |editor2=Weiner, E. |year=1989 |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |isbn= 0-19-861186-2 }}</ref> all of which descend from [[Proto-Germanic]] {{lang|gem-x-proto|*hrabanaz}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Raven |work=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]] |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=raven |access-date=14 May 2007 }}</ref>

[[Collective nouns]] for a group of ravens include a "conspiracy", a "treachery", a "rave" and an "unkindness";<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lipton |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AVNazQEACAAJ |title=An Exaltation of Larks |date=1991 |publisher=[[Viking Press]] |isbn=978-0-670-30044-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://a-z-animals.com/blog/what-is-a-group-of-ravens-called/|title=What is a Group of Ravens Called?|first=Niccoy|last=Walker|date=15 February 2023|website=A-Z Animals}}</ref> in practice, most people use the more generic "flock".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=flock+of+ravens,unkindness+of+ravens,treachery+of+ravens,conspiracy+of+ravens&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cflock%20of%20ravens%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cunkindness%20of%20ravens%3B%2Cc0t1;,flock%20of%20ravens;,c0;.t1;,unkindness%20of%20ravens;,c0 |title=flock of ravens, unkindness of ravens, treachery of ravens, conspiracy of ravens |work=[[Google Books Ngram Viewer]] |access-date=2020-01-05 }}</ref>

==Extant species==
{{seealso|List of Corvus species}}
* ''Corvus albicollis'' – [[White-necked raven]] (eastern and southern Africa)
* ''Corvus corax'' – [[Common raven]] (Northern Hemisphere)
* ''Corvus coronoides'' – [[Australian raven]] (Australia)
* ''Corvus crassirostris'' – [[Thick-billed raven]] (Horn of Africa)
* ''Corvus cryptoleucus'' – [[Chihuahuan raven]] (United States and Mexico)
* ''Corvus edithae'' – [[Dwarf raven]] (Horn of Africa)
* ''Corvus mellori'' – [[Little raven]] (southeastern Australia)
* ''Corvus rhipidurus'' – [[Fan-tailed raven]] (eastern Africa and Arabian peninsula)
* ''Corvus ruficollis'' – [[Brown-necked raven]] (northern Africa, Arabian peninsula, greater Middle East)
* ''Corvus tasmanicus'' – [[Forest raven]] (Tasmania, southern Victoria and north-east New South Wales in Australia)

==Extinct species and morphs==
* †''Corvus moriorum'' – [[Chatham raven]]
* †''Corvus antipodum'' – [[New Zealand raven]]
* †''Corvus corax varius'' morpha ''leucophaeus'' – [[Pied raven]] (extinct morph of common raven)

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Towerrabe.png|[[Common raven]]
File:Corvus cryptoleucus Arizona 2.jpg|[[Chihuahuan raven]]
File:Fan-tailed raven.jpg|[[Fan-tailed raven]]
File:Australian Raven Sydney University.jpg|[[Australian raven]]
File:Ravaged Raven in Flight.jpg|A raven with a damaged wing. It can still fly with ease.
File:2009-white-necked-raven.jpg|[[White-necked raven]]
File:Flickr - don macauley - Corvus crassirostris Cropped.jpg|[[Thick-billed raven]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Cultural depictions of ravens]]
* [[Ravens of the Tower of London]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Ravens}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Raven}}
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/crows-corvidae Raven videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101229105854/http://enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=raven North American ravens] on eNature

{{Animal common name}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ravens| ]]
[[Category:Bird common names]]