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Information about Australian Raven

Australian Raven

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Corvidae
Genus:Corvus
Species:C. coronoides
Binomial name
Corvus coronoides
Vigors & Horsfield, 1827

The Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) is the largest member of the genus Corvus and one of three commonly known as ravens in Australia. It is a more slender bird than the Common Raven of the Northern Hemisphere but is otherwise similar.

Like the other Corvus members in Australia and some species from the islands to the north, it has a white iris.

Taxonomy and naming

The Australian Raven was first described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827;[2]its specific epithet coronoides "crow-shaped" is derived from the Greek corone/κορονη "crow" and eidos/ειδος "shape" or "form".

Though called a raven, its closest affinities lie with the other four species of Australian corvid, which include the Torresian Crow and Little Crow as well as the Forest Raven and Little Raven.[2]

Description

At 52 cm (20 in) in length, the adult Australian Raven is an all black bird with black feet and beak and a white iris. Its throat feathers (hackles) are longer than those of other species. It can be distinguished from the two species of crow occurring in Australia by the grey base of the feathers, which is white in the latter species. Juveniles resemble adults, but have dark eyes, shorter throat hackles, and sometimes have a pink fleshy gape. [3]

The territorial call of the Australian Raven is a slow, high ah-ah-ah-aaaah with the last note drawn out. [2]

Distribution and habitat

The Australian Raven is common throughout eastern, southern Australia and southern Western Australia (the populations being connected by a narrow strip across the Nullarbor Plain) but not found in the far north. It has adapted very well to human habitation in some cities and is a common bird in urban Sydney, and Rottnest Island.

Behaviour

The Australian Raven is known to be very timid flinching at the first sight of humans and usually fly away if looked in the eye for too long (about ten seconds). In rural areas a single breeding pair and their brood will occupy about a square kilometre territory, whilst in urban areas over ten times more ravens can search for food in the same square kilometre.

Diet

Food consists of carrion, insects, seeds, fruit, small reptiles, nestlings and eggs. The preference ratio is 34% carrion, 42% invertebrates and 24% plant material. Food is taken mainly from the ground but will occasionally feed in trees. Ravens have adapted well to eating rubbish and scraps in urban areas, such as school playgrounds. In one isolated study they were observed feeding on nectar from eucalypt flowers.[5]

Reproduction

Breeding season is from July to September.[5] Ravens always nest in tall trees, never near to the ground as some species do. Nests are generally large and untidy, consisting of a bowl or platform of sticks lined with grasses, barks, and feathers. [6] A clutch can comprise 3-6 eggs, though usually 4 or 5 are laid. Measuring 45 mm x 30 mm (1¾ in x 1¼ in), eggs are pale green or bluish-green splotched with darker olive, brown and blackish markings.[5] Incubation of the eggs is done solely by the female over roughly 20 days. Only one brood is raised per year. Fledged by 45 days and staying with parents for about four months after that.

Relationship with Humans

The Australian Raven is frequently blamed for the loss of young lambs or kids.[8] Scientific observation in the country's southeast showed that the killing of healthy lambs was rare but that sick animals were predisposed to being attacked.[9]

External links

References

1. ^ BirdLife International (2004). Corvus coronoides. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 05 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
2. ^ Vigors, N.A. & Horsfield, T. (1827). "A description of the Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities.". Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 15: 170-331. 
3. ^ Birds in Backyards. Australian Raven (English). Retrieved on 12 August, 2007.
4. ^ Australian Museum Online. Crows and Ravens (English). Retrieved on 12 August, 2007.
5. ^ Richardson, KC (1988). "(abstract) Are Australian corvids nectarivorous?.". Emu 88 (2): 122-123. Retrieved on 2007-08-14. 
6. ^ Birds in Backyards
7. ^ Beruldsen, G (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self, 384. ISBN 0-646-42798-9. 
8. ^ Temby, Ian. Predatory Birds (English). Retrieved on 12 August, 2007.
9. ^ Rowley, I (1969). "(abstract) An evaluation of predation by 'crows' on young lambs". CSIRO Wildlife Research 14 (2): 153-179. DOI:10.1071/CWR9690153. Retrieved on 2007-08-14. 
conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Passeriformes
Linnaeus, 1758

Suborders
  • Acanthisitti
  • Tyranni
  • Passeri


A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. More than half of all species of bird are passerines.
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Corvidae
Vigors, 1825

Genera

many, see article text

Corvidae is a family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies and nutcrackers (Clayton and Emery 2005, [1] ).
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Corvus
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

See text.
The true crows are large passerine birds that comprise the genus Corvus. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-sized jackdaws (Eurasian and Daurian) to the Common Raven of the
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – October 26, 1840) was an Irish zoologist and politician.

Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford. He served in the army during the Peninsular War from 1809 to 1811.
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Thomas Horsfield, M. D., (1773–1859) was an American physician and naturalist. Horsfield was born in Philadelphia and studied medicine. He worked as a doctor in Java for many years.
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genus (plural: genera) is part of the Latinized name for an organism. It is a name which reflects the classification of the organism by grouping it with other closely similar organisms.
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Corvus
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

See text.
The true crows are large passerine birds that comprise the genus Corvus. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-sized jackdaws (Eurasian and Daurian) to the Common Raven of the
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Anthem
Advance Australia Fair [1]


Capital Canberra

Largest city Sydney
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C. corax

Binomial name
Corvus corax
Linnaeus, 1758

Common Raven range


Subspecies
  • C. c. corax
  • C. c. varius
  • C. c.

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Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – October 26, 1840) was an Irish zoologist and politician.

Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford. He served in the army during the Peninsular War from 1809 to 1811.
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Thomas Horsfield, M. D., (1773–1859) was an American physician and naturalist. Horsfield was born in Philadelphia and studied medicine. He worked as a doctor in Java for many years.
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Ancient Greek refers to the second stage in the history of the Greek language[1] as it existed during the Archaic (9th–6th centuries BC) and Classical (5th–4th centuries BC) periods in Greece.
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Little Crow is:
  • a species of crow (Little Crow).
  • an alternate name for Taoyateduta, a Sioux chief.

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C. tasmanicus

Binomial name
Corvus tasmanicus
Mathews, 1912

The Forest Raven (Corvus tasmanicus)
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C. mellori

Binomial name
Corvus mellori
Mathews, 1912

The Little Raven (Corvus mellori) was only separated in 1967 from the Australian Raven (C.
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Western Australia

Flag Coat of Arms
Slogan or Nickname: Wildflower State or the "Golden State"

Other Australian states and territories
Capital Perth
Government Constitutional monarchy
Governor Ken Michael
Premier Alan Carpenter (ALP)
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Nullarbor Plain is the vast area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country immediately north of the Great Australian Bight. The word Nullarbor is derived from the Latin nullus for 'nothing' or 'no one' and arbor
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Sydney
New South Wales

Location of Sydney within Australia

Population:
• Density: 4,280,190 (2006 Census) (1st)
345.
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Rottnest Island
Western Australia

Rottnest Island from space

Population: 300 (up to 15,000 visitors at peak holiday periods)[1]

Established: 1830s


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Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera: Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.

The eucalypts are primarily Australasian in distribution.
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incubation (from the Latin incubare, "to lie upon") can mean the following:

Physical incubation:
  • The term Avian incubation is applied to sitting on or brooding bird's eggs in order to hatch them.

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IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species.
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