American Raven
(Corvus corax principalis) Crow family

Called also: NORTHERN RAVEN; [COMMON RAVEN, AOU 1998]

Length -- 26 to 27 inches. Nearly three times as large as a robin. Male and Female -- Glossy black above, with purplish and greenish reflections. Duller underneath. Feathers of the throat and breast long and loose, like fringe. Range -- North America, from polar regions to Mexico. Rare along Atlantic coast and in the south. Common in the west, and very abundant in the northwest. Migrations -- An erratic wanderer, usually resident where it finds its way.

The weird, uncanny voice of this great bird that soars in wide circles above the evergreen trees of dark northern forests seems to come out of the skies like the malediction of an evil spirit. Without uttering the words of any language -- Poe's "Nevermore" was, of course, a poetic license -- people of all nationalities appear to understand that some dire calamity, some wicked portent, is being announced every time the unbirdlike creature utters its rasping call. The superstitious folk crow with an "I told you so," as they solemnly wag their heads when they hear, of some death in the village after "the bird of ill-omen" has made an unwelcome visit to the neighborhood--it receives the blame for every possible misfortune.