Raven or Carrion crow - Scotland (1 Viewer)

[Lmc3598]

In fact now that i look at it again i see it is rook sorry i was wrong

 

[cates]

ravens make a croaking noise; once you get familiar with them they're a lot easier.

 

[Jaysan]

ravens make a croaking noise; once you get familiar with them they're a lot easier.

Don't feel like unticking the raven yet. So a few more snaps, in the off chance I can keep it ticked.

Must say the bird was not the size of a rook, and I specifically looked at the beak to look for the white patch - did not see it. As for the call, it was not like a call I had heard before. Initially, I thought a corvid was scared of a big raptor. That's why I scanned the sky hoping to spot an "eagle".

By the way, the bird flapped once when I saw it and then was soaring for over 2-3 minutes. Can / do rooks soar for such a length of time?

 

[Apodemus]

Don't feel like unticking the raven yet. So a few more snaps, in the off chance I can keep it ticked.

Must say the bird was not the size of a rook, and I specifically looked at the beak to look for the white patch - did not see it. As for the call, it was not like a call I had heard before. Initially, I thought a corvid was scared of a big raptor. That's why I scanned the sky hoping to spot an "eagle".

By the way, the bird flapped once when I saw it and then was soaring for over 2-3 minutes. Can / do rooks soar for such a length of time?

These look even more rooky than the first pic. Nothing ravenous about them at all, I'm afraid.

 

[Apodemus]

If you slipped that pic of Tims in amongst yours, you wouldn't be able to tell which bird was which.

 

[Jaysan]

If you slipped that pic of Tims in amongst yours, you wouldn't be able to tell which bird was which.

Unticked!!!

 

[Apodemus]

Don't worry, you'll soon see a real one, I'm sure. Get yourself up to the Highlands for a weekend

 

[Shadow-watcher]

Rook rookery rook rook rook, im afraid. The bill is not a raven. Its very hard to see the difference when you only have one bird in the sky, rooks are large than you think when on the wing. If a raven had turned up youd instsntly mark the difference. Ravens look more like a BoP than a corvid to my eyes.

 

[david kelly]

Don't worry, you'll soon see a real one, I'm sure. Get yourself up to the Highlands for a weekend

No need to go as far as the Highlands, Ravens are increasing in the Lothian hills and now can even be found in Holyrood Park in the centre of Edinburgh. The Green Cleugh at the head of the valley containing Loganlea and Glencorse reservoirs is the most reliable site.

David

 

[Macswede]

Rook rookery rook rook rook, im afraid. Ravens look more like a BoP than a corvid to my eyes.

I'd agree with that. It's much easier to identify Ravens in the field than from a photograph. I saw a pair on Friday from the car and my first thought was Buzzard.
The sound is also unmistakeable - it's not just a deeoper version of a crow's "caw", more a loud, echoing, resonant "dronk".

 

[Dawsy]

It's always possible you heard a raven then looked at the wrong bird. Sometimes ravens are much further away than they sound. There are plenty of ravens around Vane Farm so if you can get back there you'll see them soon enough.

 

[Lmc3598]

No need to go as far as the Highlands, Ravens are increasing in the Lothian hills and now can even be found in Holyrood Park in the centre of Edinburgh. The Green Cleugh at the head of the valley containing Loganlea and Glencorse reservoirs is the most reliable site.

David

David
I have another thread about ravens in Edinburgh. Here is a link
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=192304
If you have any other information about these ravens i would be most grateful if you could post some on my thread.

Thanks|:d||:d||:d||:d|

 

[occasional]

Strange thing this animal perception.

To me it looks like a straightforward raven, with a clear wedge-shaped tail in pics. 2 and 3.

 

[Lmc3598]

Strange thing this animal perception.

To me it looks like a straightforward raven, with a clear wedge-shaped tail in pics. 2 and 3.

Look at the bird beak closely you will see it is a rook

 

[Jaysan]

Strange thing this animal perception.

To me it looks like a straightforward raven, with a clear wedge-shaped tail in pics. 2 and 3.

Agree with that. Guess I will not be able to tell the diff unless I see a bonafide raven. I have seen a raven - at the tower of London, but that doesn't count does it.

Funnily, when I showed the picture to one of the staff at Vane Farm, he thought it was a raven as well.

 

[Jan-Paul Charteris]

The misconception here seems to be that wedge shaped tail favours Raven over Rook. Look at this image of a Rook (showing bill clearly to remove any doubt at all): http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2801/4025033489_7dbe882d04.jpg Rooks have tails wich dependant on angle either look rounded or wedge shaped, very unlike Carrion Crow. The straighter rear edge to a Rooks wings can also serve to make them look longer, and the tail longer.

The OP's bird is a Rook due to 1. The head bill profile being classic Rook with good forehead visable and a thin bill, and 2. proportions, the wings and tail are not long enough for a Raven, but again perfect for Rook.

You really will know a Raven when you see it. Don't get me wrong, even now when I'm in an area like Whipsnade actively looking for Raven for the year list, I'll end up with a couple of false alerts from Rooks. Rook frequently soar and have a shape not dissimilar to a Raven at first glance. As I said in another thread, whereas it is unlikely that Carrion Crow will be mistaken for a raptor, Rooks have that ability to at a very quick glance make you think you're looking at a raptor. I remember a photo of what was obviously a Rook being posted on here a year or two back that the OP had been convinced was a Honey Buzzard

Jan