Crows vs. ravens (and other fun details)
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On my morning dog walks, I’m often visited by crows. They will land on the utility lines above my head or hop along beside me on the parking strip, waiting for peanuts.
They arrive in mated pairs or small family groups. Sometimes, I’m greeted by a murder of 20 or more.
One morning, as I was nearing home, I was visited by several crows only to have them suddenly fly off in alarm. I looked up and immediately saw why. Cutting a diagonal across the sky was a common raven. I instantly recognized it as such because of its relative size and pointed tail feathers.
There’s no familial love between these two corvids. Ravens prey on crow eggs and nestlings. So, adult crows will proactively mob the bigger bird on sight.
If you don’t see them in the same sky, it can be difficult to notice the differences. It’s even more difficult when you’re looking at an illustration or a photograph of a single bird. Is that a crow or a raven? Out of context, it can be hard to tell.
Which brings me to one of the visual details I absolutely had to get right with this second book. I’ll let you in on a little secret: The bird on cover of my first book, The Leaving Year, was supposed to be a raven because of a Northwest Native myth (Raven Steals the Sun) that I reference in the story. But I strongly suspect that the handsome bird on the cover is in fact a crow. The tell is the tail. It’s shaped like a fan not a wedge.
Now nine out of 10 people would look at that cover and simply see a beautiful black bird in flight against a watercolor blue background. Crow or raven – who cares? I don’t. Not now. I love the cover in spite of the “mistake,” which is entirely on me. Designers can’t be expected to be corvid experts.
For this second book, though, I had to nail it. A raven has a fly-through role but is not the focus. The birds on the cover and gracing the inside pages had to be crows. I probably drove the designers at She Writes Press crazy, swapping out images.
I think (I hope) I got my corvids straight. Details! Despite all my research and triple-checking, I might have overlooked something egregious. So, do me a favor. If you read my book and spot something not quite right (beyond the obvious leaps of imagination), please keep it to yourself.
My question for you: When have you had to sweat the details? Please share your comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
Meanwhile, here’s a fun graphic created by artist Rosemary Mosco of Bird and Moon comics and Kaeli Swift, Ph.D. Check out Swift’s awesome blog Corvid Research as well as her definitive guide for distinguishing American crows and common ravens.
