Expert: Julia Booth - 12/6/2009

Question
I know little about bird but this intrigued me. I live in Boise Idaho. Today, out front I saw two really, really big crow like birds eating a broken pumpkin. I say really big because with them were a half dozen normal sized crows..the big birds were at least twice the size of the crows. I was perhaps 30 feet away and these birds looked bigger than the ducks we get in the area but a bit smaller than the Canadian geese that infest Boise in winter. I have seen ravens before at the Tower in London and these were a good bit bigger...They were also sluggish. When I went out to try to get a photo, the crows were gone in an instant but the big birds needed a hopping start. What am I seeing??

Answer
Based on your location, the size and the hopping start, I'd say what you're seeing ARE Ravens. But only because, there's no other bird it could be. Bear in mind that ravens are about 40% larger than Crows, and have a much heavier build and pronounced chest. The only other larger bird that is black is the Black Vulture, and they don't live in Idaho. The American Crow and the Common Raven are the only birds of their type found in your state.

Hope this helps,


Julia