Australian raven

The Australian raven (Corvus coronoides) is a bird found in Australia. It is a type of songbird (passerine) in the crow family (corvid). It is about 46 to 53 centimeters (18 to 21 inches) long. The bird is all black, including its beak and mouth. It has strong, greyish-black legs and feet. The top parts of its body are shiny and have a purple-blue and greenish shine. Its black feathers have grey bases. The Australian raven can be told apart from the Australian crow and other similar birds because it has long throat feathers called hackles, which are easy to see in adult birds. Older and young bird's eye have a white iris. Young birds and hatchlings have brown or dark eyes until they are about 15 months old. Then, their eyes turn hazel with a blue rim around each pupil, and this lasts until they are around two to three years old.  Its scientific name, "coronoides," shows that it looks similar to the carrion crow. There are two subspecies of this raven. They have slightly different calls and are quite different in their genes.

The Australian raven likes to live in open woodlands and areas where different habitats meet. It needs access to water, and somewhere high to build a nest. It also lives in cities and towns. It has become good at living near people and in city areas, and is often seen in several big cities like Sydney, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane. The Australian raven is protective of its space, and pairs usually stay together for life. It breeds from July to September almost everywhere it lives. It makes a nest that looks like a bowl out of sticks, usually high up in a tree or sometimes in a man-made structure like a windmill or building.

The Australian raven eats almost anything it can find, including fruits, seeds, lizards, young birds, and small mammals.  It also looks for leftover human food in garbage bins and at rubbish sites, eating things like fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, and eggs. In eastern Australia, these ravens are often seen near sheep farms and sometimes get blamed for killing lambs. But this rare. They do however eat the afterbirth left by sheep that have just given birth. Ravens also help clean up the environment, like vultures do in other parts of the world. They eat dead animals, stillborn farm animals, and even the droppings of newborn mammals, which helps stop the spread of disease.

References

Category:Corvids
Category:Birds of Australia