Raven

A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus Corvus. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus.

The largest raven species are the common raven and the thick-billed raven.

The term "raven" originally referred to the common raven (Corvus corax), the type species of the genus Corvus, which has a larger distribution than any other species of Corvus, ranging over much of the Northern Hemisphere.

The modern English word raven has cognates in all other Germanic languages, including Old Norse (and subsequently modern Icelandic) hrafn [1] and Old High German (h)raban ,[2] all of which descend from Proto-Germanic *hrabanaz .[3]

Collective nouns for a group of ravens (or at least the common raven) include "rave",[4] "treachery",[5] "unkindness"[6] and "conspiracy".[7] In practice, most people use the more generic "flock".[8]

Head of a common raven

Common ravens

Chihuahuan raven

Fan-tailed raven

Australian raven

A raven with a damaged wing. It can still fly with ease.