Steph (crisis version)Loads of rooks out and about today! Haven't seen any hooded crows for a while, though. I hope the rooks aren't displacing them.
I taught my partner how to identify a rook (as opposed to a carrion crow) and now they always call out the "little fluffy rook trousers".
Identifying a raven is dead easy. If you're looking at it and going "ooh, is that a crow or a raven", it's a crow. If instead you're going "christ that bird's fucking enormous" it's a raven.
this thread has been your annual reminder that I am a corvid person
(my favourite is still the Eurasian magpie, they're so clever and so hilariously disrespectful, plus magpie folklore is AWESOME)
okay before anyone else says anything: yes, it is difficult to tell the difference between a crow and a raven if you don't have any indicators as to relative size, then you have to start squinting at the tail shape
but in general if you see a raven up close you KNOW it's a raven because it is LARGE đ
also please don't ask me to identify birds that aren't corvids, I can do the obvious ones but sometimes people think I know ALL birds and while I am a Bird Respecter I am mostly knowledgeable about UK corvids
yet another addendum: my very silly guide for differentiating crows and ravens falls apart entirely in Australia, where crows and ravens are very similar sizes and usually ravens (but called crows anyway, I guess because this is a country that calls a non-corvid a magpie and words don't mean anything)
(this is a joke, before anyone gets pedantic)
thank you to the helpful Australians for educating me!
here is a raven seen pretty up close at the Tower of London! majestic and entirely unimpressed by tourists. a crow would be maybe two-thirds the height at most, and half the weight.
ETA: if you donât know anything about the Tower of London ravens I suggest giving this a read https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/the-ravens/
Joe (TBA)@astronomerritt wow, they let you get close.
@RegGuy The Tower of London ravens see a LOT of humans, they are pretty much tame but only the Ravenmaster is allowed to interact with them, as they are not afraid to bite if tourists get over-familiar.
The reasons why some ravens have been âfiredâ from their post are hilarious.
@astronomerritt I only have passing knowledge about these ravens. There is so much to learn about in the world. Even at nearly 70 and being forever curious, I still did not know about what you sent me. Fascinating.
@RegGuy I hope this doesnât offend you, as I mean it as a high compliment, but you really do remind me of my dad sometimes: heâs very similar in his attitude to the world and learning new things.
@astronomerritt OMG, highest compliment to be compared to one's dad. Thank you!
He and I are probably about the same age. At least the same generation.
@RegGuy He's 67, so very close. Though he insists he's "sixty-seventeen".
@astronomerritt Hah, up until a few years ago I swore I was a 27 y/o in an old man's body. Hah!
CCochard@astronomerritt @RegGuy don't mean to interfer but as a french person, I would like to point out that sixty-seventeen is 77.
Robert@astronomerritt if it helps, most of us Australians are also confused
lizzzzard@rLok @astronomerritt in general, or just about corvids?
@lizzard @astronomerritt in general, but especially about corvids
JW@astronomerritt
Yep, in my part of Australia, it's very easy to distinguish crows from ravens. They're all ravens.
Yep, in my part of Australia, it's very easy to distinguish crows from ravens. They're all ravens.
WearyBonnie@astronomerritt
I'm glad I scrolled down to read this before replying upthread đ
I'm glad I scrolled down to read this before replying upthread đ
Laurent Bercot@astronomerritt so you're saying that you'll identify other birds... nevermore.
@ska you are the third person to make a Poe joke to this toot! which is genuinely less than I thought I'd get :D
@astronomerritt I'm sorry for being unoriginal, you got so many replies I didn't check them all đ
@ska not a problem in the slightest, I thought it was funny!
âĽáľáľ CᾸáľáśşáľáśŤâ¸áľáľ âď¸@astronomerritt if you can't identity birds, what about planes?
YÍĽâĚͼ̸Ěͼ̡Ěngmar@astronomerritt I only know how to tell a herring gull from a great black-backed gull:
It's a herring gull if it goes: "u got a problem m8?" and also if it eats your donut.
It's a great black-backed gull if the herring gulls go: "oh fuck sorry m8 didn't mean nuttin by it" and also if it eats your german shepherd.
@yngmar this gave me a proper giggle, thanks!
Cycling Stu@astronomerritt Then you get to Australia, where we have both Ravens and Crows, and you need to either know which is in your area, or have it in your hand to compare the feathers to work it out...
@stufromoz Yeah, I've had a few Australians educate me about the rather more complex corvid situation over there!
@astronomerritt and then the fun of dealing with magpies in breeding season, and not knowing if they are going to be hyper territorial, or chill.. (It is breeding season currently)
(they seem to love swooping on cyclists, for reasons known only to them, and ... I cycle)
@stufromoz oh, see, your magpies I knew about because they are notorious bastards! they're not even corvids, they're just swoopy dickheads.
@astronomerritt swoopy dickheads who also sing
@stufromoz It sounds like a haunted calliope. Kind of love it.
@astronomerritt we often have them singing around our apartment building
skribe đşđŚ 
@astronomerritt not so hard to tell the difference in my home town. All the 'crows' in Perth are Australian ravens.
FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRK!
@skribe Are they as violent as Australian magpies? I know an Australian magpie isn't actually a corvid but I kind of love that Australia has a version of the magpie which is known for being super aggressive.
vandenberglegs@astronomerritt @skribe Australian ravens aren't aggressive at all, but they will break into your rubbish bin, or your kids backpack/lunchbox. Very smart. As for magpies: it's swooping season and I got swooped by 4 different magpies on Sunday. A couple of weeks ago a particularly accurate magpie gave me 3 small puncture wounds on the side of my head. All part of the Australian bike riding experience.
JillL@vandenberglegs I've even been swooped by a willy wagtail in my local park. It must have picked up a few tips from the local magpies. đŹ
@jillL Geez, I know mudlarks/Peewees love a swoop (more likely to lose an eye than with a magpie) but hadn't heard of willy wagtails getting involved!
@astronomerritt no, but they're wickedly smart. We used to set puzzles for the ones at Curtin Uni and they'd pass the knowledge onto their kids once they'd solved them.
Maggies are only aggressive during their breeding season (about now). That said, I haven't been swooped for decades (not since I was a kid).
We were adopted by a family of them in our last place in Oz. We'd feed them and they'd come and sing for us. Gorgeous.
@astronomerritt
They're very gentle and friendly, but they can be sneaky!! When I was at uni there were two ravens working a con - one would come and feed from your hand or stand on your knee while the other one would attempt to pinch things from your bag while you were distracted đ
@skribe
They're very gentle and friendly, but they can be sneaky!! When I was at uni there were two ravens working a con - one would come and feed from your hand or stand on your knee while the other one would attempt to pinch things from your bag while you were distracted đ
@skribe
@3TomatoesShort @skribe That is DELIGHTFUL. Actually, reminds me of a video I saw with crows. One crow was distracting the human by cutely requesting food and eating from his palm. The other crow was industriously untying his shoelaces.
John Maguire
Murray GM - Paperposts@Paperposts aaaaah they're so awesome and chill!
@astronomerritt oh yeah and plentiful too. these live just outside San Francisco. when i first saw one close up i totally had a âchrist that crow is massiveâ moment (before i got into birds)
@Paperposts oh, they are HANDSOME. So shiny!
Esslar2@astronomerritt Now and then, early in the morning when I'm still abed, I hear a crow flying over the house when it lets out a quick "croak." It may not be "birdsong," but it's just a lovely thing to hear.
@flyhigh I also love crow caws. They're so atmospheric!
@astronomerritt That's a lovely way to say it.
David JONES@astronomerritt a magpie died in my garden a few weeks ago (not my fault, it was trying to hide from me when i was taking my breakfast in the garden, and was probably already on its way out then). The next day the neighbourhood magpies gathered in the garden to observe the dead, and pay their respects. They were chatting to each other, and calling more magpies in.
@drj Yeah! Crows are famous for âfuneralsâ but other corvids do it too, which has led to the absolutely amazing field of study called âcorvid thanatologyâ.
Anna@astronomerritt @drj ?!! ok well that's amazing, brb retaining as a corvid thanatologist
Shephallmassive@astronomerritt @drj Magpies are so unusual- We had a magpie that would keep coming up to our small puppy husky in the garden - one morning the magpie was knocking in the garden patio door and the puppy had her nose against the window. The puppy is much bigger now but occasionally I see magpies just sitting in the garden - taking a bit of a risk I would say but she doesnât seem to mind them or go to chase them.
@Shephallmassive @drj Magpies are really clever and quite curious: it might have been deliberately making sure your wee dog got used to it so it wouldnât see magpies as a threat. Or, of course, it could have been messing around to be a bit of a dick, magpies will do that too đ
DrChris@astronomerritt I sent you a post about baby ravens on instagram the other day :)
@DrChris omg I have Insta notifications off! hang on
@astronomerritt You're not missing out on much, it's just a terrible place for mindless scrolling!