Common raven

The common raven, also known as the western raven or northern raven when discussing the raven at the subspecies level, is a large all-black passerine bird. Found across the Northern Hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. There are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages 63 centimetres in length and 1.2 kilograms in mass. Although their typical lifespan is considerably shorter, common ravens can live more than 23 years in the wild, which among passerines only is surpassed by a few Australian species such as the satin bowerbird and probably the lyrebirds. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory.