American Crow vs Raven

Both birds are all black, so color will not settle it. What separates them is shape and behavior. A raven is about half again the size of a crow, with a shaggier throat and a heavier, curvier bill. Cornell Lab lists crows at roughly 16 to 21 inches long and common ravens at about 22 to 27 inches.

In the field, flight and voice are the easiest clues. Crows flap steadily and rarely glide, while ravens soar and glide more. Ravens are far less common than crows in the eastern United States, so a big black bird in a suburban yard back East is much more likely a crow. Out West the odds are closer to even.

American Crow vs Raven side by side

Last verified October 2026. Typical values; individual animals, products and local prices vary.

When you are looking at which

American Crow

• The bird is roughly Red-tailed Hawk sized; that points to a raven rather than a crow.
• The call is a clear, harsh caw, repeated; that is a crow.
• You see a fan-shaped tail when it flies overhead and it flaps nearly the whole time.
• It is in a big flock in an eastern suburb, parking lot or field.

Raven

• The tail looks like a wedge and the bird glides or soars on flat wings.
• You hear a deep croak or gurgle, not a caw.
• The throat looks shaggy or the bill looks oversized and curved.
• You see one bird or a pair, and it hops with both feet on the ground.

How this works

The quiz scores five things you can see or hear: tail shape, call, flight style, size and group size. Each answer points to one bird. The side with more answers wins, and a close score is reported as too close to call.

No single cue is perfect. Young birds, molting adults and distant views can fool you, and group size overlaps a lot. Other crow and raven species exist, such as the Fish Crow in the East and the Chihuahuan Raven in the Southwest, and they are not covered here.

Where these numbers come from

The figures and defaults on this page are based on:

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology: American Crow Identification, supports crow size, tail shape and flight style (checked October 2026)
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Common Raven Identification, supports raven size, wedge tail, shaggy throat and voice (checked October 2026)
• Audubon: How to Tell a Raven From a Crow, supports tail, voice, flight, group and range differences (checked October 2026)

Field-identification guide. Individual birds and similar species can look different, so use several cues together.