Crow or Raven? How to Tell The Colorado Blackbirds Apart

It's pretty common to start singing "blackbird singing in the dead of night" around Colorado as it's pretty common to see blackbirds. I'm not talking about the small birds that sing, I'm talking about the big blackbirds that squawk. They are either a Crow or a Raven? The two birds are very hard to tell apart. They are both part of the Corvid family which includes crows, ravens, jays, and magpies.

I have been blessed to spend lots of my life with these birds around me here in Colorado. They are loud, squawky things that never seem to be alone, if you see one, there's likely another. Let's explore the difference between the Crow and the Raven.

With some help from the Audobon, this is the way I break down the difference between the Crow and Raven found here in Colorado:

• Ravens are bigger in size than the crow
• Ravens often travel with just one partner versus the crow which flies in a group.
• Ravens actually have a croaking sound more like a frog than a "caw" sound.
• If you can see their tail feathers, the raven has long middle tail feathers versus even tail feathers, like the crow.
• Ravens have a big, curvy beak, which almost looks like a tropical bird to me.
• The Raven has a more impressive display of throat feathers.
• Ravens don't flap their wings as much when flying, they do more soaring. Crows flap.

If you really want to geek out on birds there are several apps to help you identify the birds around you like the Audubon Bird Guide App.

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