Corvus mellori

1 Little Raven at Wamboin, NSW

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Identification history

Corvus mellori

9 May 2020

natureguy

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User's notes

Heard calling, distinctive, shorter call than Australian Raven. Both species regular here.

5 comments

Illilanga wrote:

9 May 2020

I guestimate I would have seen at least 2,000 birds in many many flocks flying over us these past few months. I have some photos and audio to add as well... just need to sort them!

davidmcdonald wrote:

10 May 2020

Hi natureguy, is 'higher pitched' a typo? Yes, lots of Little Ravens in Wamboin now, many more than Aust Ravens.

natureguy wrote:

10 May 2020

Hi David, I generally find that as well as the shorter call, Little Ravens also often have a higher pitched call (though not always the best ID feature - some Aust. Ravens have higher-pitched calls too). Short call (Little) vs long, drawn out call (Aust.) is probably the best distinguishing feature, and the pitch is not super reliable. I've removed this out of the comments in case it causes any confusion. Regards Luke.

davidmcdonald wrote:

10 May 2020

Hmm, interesting comment about the pitch of the call, Luke. I agree that the call is usually the easiest point of ID, though I find that the throat hackles and wing shuffles also help when seen fairly closely. This year I have been looking closely at them to try to use the crown shape as an ID point, as per the CSIRO guide, without success!

natureguy wrote:

10 May 2020

Yes wing-flicking and throat hackles are useful ID features but these birds were seen in flight and from a distance, so these features were not visible.

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