Corvus mellori
1 Little Raven at Wamboin, NSW
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| Corvus mellori | natureguy | 9 May 2020 |
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User's notes
Heard calling, distinctive, shorter call than Australian Raven. Both species regular here.
5 comments
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!
10 May 2020
Hi natureguy, is 'higher pitched' a typo? Yes, lots of Little Ravens in Wamboin now, many more than Aust Ravens.
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.
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!
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.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.273517-35.254576
- Places Wamboin, NSW
Sighting information
- 2 Abundance
- 20 Apr 2020 02:28 PM Recorded on
- natureguy Recorded by
Collections
- natureguy Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Corvus mellori Magpie or larger Other Birds Birds
Species information
- Corvus mellori Scientific name
- Little Raven Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Rare or uncommon native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1714.94m Recorded at altitude
Seasonal activity
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Nesting site
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