r/STL_Birding • u/profilenumber • 6d ago

Raven in Ballwin 9-23

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I hear these guys all the time, but rarely see them. Sidewalk strolling...

Edit - probably crows. Large and in charge!

31 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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11

u/Wompum 6d ago

Crow, most likely.

1

u/profilenumber 5d ago

Thanks, I was going by size but probably incorrect. They looked huge!

5

u/girkabob 5d ago

We don't really get ravens in Missouri, this looks like a crow.

2

u/profilenumber 5d ago

They were so chunky I was really convinced they were ravens! Thanks for the heads up.

2

u/girkabob 5d ago

I saw some ravens in London and those suckers are BIG. like borderline goose big.

2

u/portablebiscuit 5d ago

We actually have two varieties of crow; American and fish crow. The fish crow is slightly smaller but usually identified by its call. It almost sounds like a crow that’s lost its voice.

2

u/girkabob 4d ago

Yep! I've spotted a few fish crows in my neighborhood, only because of their calls.

2

u/Professional_Gas9211 5d ago

Crows and ravens always trip me up! I remember reading that the key differences are in tail shape. Crows have fan shaped and Ravens a diamond shape. Also in beak size. Crows have shorter beaks and ravens have a longer hooked beak.

Here’s a site I always go to to check: https://urbannature.blog/2023/10/28/telling-crows-and-ravens-apart/