How Smart Are Australia's Ravens?

This time we're looking at Australia's five species of corvids. I'll be outlining the differences and taking a deep dive into raven hijinks. There's a lot of morbid myths surrounding these birds, but they're not all doom and gloom.
Special thanks to the following people:
‪@birdspots‬
‪@GubanaNatureRefuge‬
‪@wildhomevideos‬
@joshua_wooley
@out-and-about4904
Check out the Cambrian Explosion on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/artist/4spSq...
Patreon:
/ thebackyardnaturalist
Instagram:
/ the_backyard_naturalist
TikTok:
/ thebackyardnaturalist
Sources:
'A Guide to the Creatures in Your Neighbourhood'
'The Australian Bird Guide'
australian.museum/learn/anima...
www.rememberthewild.org.au/6-...
www.theguardian.com/commentis...
inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/8...
inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/8...
inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/8...
inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/8...

[@MajorMalfunction]

No shit, I saw a bunch of ravens playing soccer in a Maccas carpark once while I was eating lunch. They'd found a little ball in a happy meal box, and were literally kicking it around with each other just for fun. Smart buggers.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

if I saw that, I'd be raven about it too!

[@MajorMalfunction]

No shit. I think they were using my car as the goalposts. They kicked it underneath a few times, and one would go under and bring it back into play.

[@MajorMalfunction]

I'm not even joking, mate. This is fair dinkum what I saw happening. I never even thought to get out my phone to record it, because I was sitting as still as possible, just watching, knowing I was seeing something incredible no-one would believe. But if I moved, I might disturb them, and they'd bugger off.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

@@MajorMalfunction That's brilliant, I love it! I just wish I knew what the final score was. I suppose it was hard to tell because everyone was wearing the same team colours.

[@MajorMalfunction]

The crows won. :) But eventually a car pulled-up next to me, and they buggered off. Final siren.

[@JoelReid]

In central Australia ravens live in large family groups. These family groups are so organised that they will only have one mother lay eggs at a time and the family will raise the chicks together.

[@JohnGardnerAlhadis]

I believe you. The ravens on my street appear to have a calendar, because there's always an uptick in their neighbourhood activity every Tuesday arvo, when residents are wheeling their rubbish bins out to the kerb for collection the following morning. And yes, you can bet your arse they make a mess of the street. 😖 Don't overflow bins, people!

[@trinefanmel]

Wholesome healthy relationships in the bird world. Why can't we be like that?

[@nothipbuthipp7634]

I see this in my own back yard in Brissy, so many chicks have come by, raised by a bunch of family (clutch). Same with the magpies, and one old girl still comes by every now and then with a chick after over 5 years of first friending her. All others bow to her on her wing cracks as she lands. I swear I run an avian day care here. *.*

[@hankcuccina5260]

I don't know about that one Joe.

[@aaronleverton4221]

How central? Didn't see a single crow in four years in Indulkana.

[@astrobot3000]

The amount of metaphors for ravens and crows here is impressive!

[@the-Backyard-Naturalist]

I was going to include asphalt albatross and obsidian osprey haha

[@mollydooker9636]

​@@the-Backyard-Naturalistsave those gems for an upcoming video.

[@youngalfred]

Sooty savant was my favourite

[@JohnGardnerAlhadis]

I'm getting a Casual Geographic vibe...

[@allisonjames2923]

We do love a good nickname in Oz 🤷‍♀️

[@scottcallaghan1000]

I remember one of my first days in Australia I witnessed a raven jump a pigeon, claw it's wings apart and stuff it's injured body under a car tire. Love this country.

[@freeman10000]

Australia has the best birds.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

@@freeman10000 And the worst birds. Noisy miners are absolute shits. Well, come to think of it, they're the only Aussie bird that I dislike. So yeah, we do have some of the best.

[@hilliard665]

If you think the crows are brutal, keep an eye out for the butcher birds. They got that name for a reason

[@KhaoticDeterminism]

we just love the time stamp the birds are ok too… #2Spirit edit: Spirit shows us signs we will recognize it really depends on the library you develop with them (no 444 is Atlas)

[@sunshadow7XK]

@@NewFalconerRecords Indian Mynas are an introduced pest species.

[@samuelpires3247]

The fact that the name for the Raven in the mythology is 'Waa' is just perfect. Like if they named a Dog 'Bark' or a Cat 'Meow'.

[@JohnGardnerAlhadis]

The name "Waa" may have been onomatopoeia, actually. Several well-known bird names were originally used to describe the calls of different species; e.g., kookaburras, currawongs, galahs, gang gangs, and probably others.

[@PistachioDean]

I'm Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay and for example kookaburra is gugurrgaagaa. I think it's common for indigenous languages to name birds after the onomatopoeia. Luckily the word for curlew isn't though lol.

[@JimCullen]

The Vietnamese word for cat is literally "mèo", so it wouldn't be unprecedented.

[@allisonjames2923]

Hmmmm the more Aussie version would be “woooo” (blue for redheads 🤷‍♀️)

[@possummagic3571]

In my people's language (Yolgnu), the word for crow is literally "Waak".

[@Sathias_]

The ravens were one of the highlights of visiting Rottnest Island for me. I had my breakfast stolen by a classic misdirection by a combined quokka/raven heist team. Quokka jumped onto the seat next to me and distracted me with cuteness and the raven swooped in and stole my breakfast, much to the amusement of everyone within a 10m radius.

[@nothipbuthipp7634]

OOh this sounds like a perfect day spent to me hee hee

[@monky4640]

honestly this is believable

[@megsinaus4207]

Yup I had my lunch stolen several times when I worked construction. Not take away either! A packed lunch in a cooler 🤣

[@pungaking]

Melbourne being depicted as city 17 made me burst out in raucous laughter

[@the-Backyard-Naturalist]

That's just a real picture I took on Swanston street

[@freeman10000]

You got Adelaide spot on.

[@joshanderson9391]

It’s so unfair Melbourne is nothing like City 17 City 17 has way better weather

[@YeahIDontKn0wEither]

​@joshanderson9391 Yeah but Melbourne is most liveable in the world because you don't have police trying to shoot you up everyday

[@ayylmao8901]

​@@joshanderson9391 Can't wait to try some of Dr. Dan's Private Reserve

[@isaacthemonke233]

Australia, where even the animals have accents. Jokes aside this was very informative

[@allisonjames2923]

Speaking of jokes…. Appropriate Aussie dad joke (best said out loud) Have you noticed that even though they frequently snack on highway tenderised delicacies, ravens never get hit by cars? …. It’s because they’re always in pairs… one levering the freshly bitumen baked wildlife off the road, while another is up in a tree or on a power line, and every time a car comes they yell “car car carrrrrr” (go to 13:18 if you don’t get it if you don’t get it) 😊 🦅

[@nahtanha]

I've always described the call of the Australian Raven as "imagine a bird doing a Bob Hawke impression"

[@keef78]

Lol, that is gold! Spot on.

[@keef78]

Lol, that is the best! So spot on. Rest in peace hawkey.

[@Kai_Squared]

Aww yes! Another backyard naturalist video. I used to have a landlord who loves feeding lorikeets and cockatoos and he made me more appreciative of the Australian nature when I was indifferent before. Now with your videos my appreciation is even more 🐦🕊

[@ComaDave]

My two Australian Ravens are Eddie and Allie...named after E.A. Poe. They know their names, hand signals and certainly the word "food". They fly down from their domain atop an enormous cypress pine just behind my house for their daily feast of chicken necks. Allie sings to me. Eddie does that "wail" to me, so I'm guessing that only the males do that. Never heard Allie make that sound in the six years they've been here.

[@NewFalconerRecords]

I'll be "raven" and "crowing" about this video for ages. An absolute treat!

[@cadoized]

ive always characterized our crow's calls as "someone getting a massage thats just a bit too hard"

[@keef78]

Lol, and I thought the bob hawke analogy was good, perhaps it's bob hawk getting a hard massage 😂

[@lukehayes9834]

Underrated comment

[@linesydclb8845]

Love our ravens. Bill Bailey said they called with a sarcastic tone. We have one in our tree that barks at the dogs.

[@Beaut_Beau]

My mum hates the noise these guys make, but i always thought their call makes them sound like they are being endlessly disappointed... I told her this and now she feels sorry for them haha

[@NewFalconerRecords]

Yes, it's that downward inflection.

[@anonymous3174]

Their face looks like that too. I've got a "pet" raven and he always looks like he is judging me and is unimpressed. Lol

[@keef78]

It's not one of our best you gotta admit but they are awesome birds.

[@najalush]

I’ve been feeding a family of crows for a little while now, the parents & their 2 babies. They come everyday, & while they’re still very nervous & fly away at any sudden movement, they’re edging closer to me everyday ❤️ I’ve always loved crows so it’s been a really cool experience! I’ve also got a couple of families of rainbow lorikeets that visit everyday for some honey water - watching the babies babies beaks form over these past couple of months has been fascinating! I think they’re just about to get the boot though so I really hope they keep coming to visit!

[@NathanWooley]

My masterful man, I adore your alliteration in this video

[@hal20111]

I observed an interesting behaviour in one raven. It was up on top of my double story house and looked down before saying ‘faarrrrk.’ Naturally I assumed this meant he/she was afraid of heights.

[@Darkinu2]

😂😂 "Farrrrrrk that!"

[@subwaytovenus3237]

You are genuinely my favourite content creator at the moment. I love learning about our native flora and fauna, with chill aussie homour. Somehow makes it so much easier to absorb the information.

[@suchdevelopments]

😁🥰Good day from Lismore, NSW.🌏 We have a family of Crows that comes down to feed in the backyard, along with Kooburras, Magiepies, Lokeets, and Minors, who come down to drink from two bird baths. The best time to catch them is in the morning and evening. I can see them from the bedroom window while typing on the computer.

[@MaddyJayde]

Dude I love your content so much. Never have I been more interested in birds!! Also I really loved the inclusion of the Indigenous folklore! Please keep it up!

[@86Sando]

My uncle had a hobby farm in the Adelaide hills. Ravens used to harass his sheep so he would shoot them with his rifle when they were settled. However they figured out the rifle shape pretty quickly so he painted a broom stick black and brought that out but the didn’t fly away because even from 100m away they could tell it was different. Very smart birds.

[@consuelonunez792]

I've been in Australia for a couple months and I just adore all the birds here, specially ravens! Your videos are so interesting and fun, thank you! Now I can understand better their behavior (and where the odd noises out there are coming from lol)

[@dumoulin11]

Corvids are amazing characters. When you get to know a particular individual over a number of years you realize just how cunning and manipulative they can be. I had a pet crow as a teenager and it was a constant source of amazement. It always felt like having a person around. Always watching and calculating ... and stealing shiny things.

[@keef78]

Alot in common with humans hey.

[@dumoulin11]

@@keef78 Indeed!

[@relwalretep]

Past week has been spent watching currawongs teaching the kids how to eat figs off my tree....

[@keef78]

Currawongs have the best call.

[@lindsaydrewe8219]

Licorice Larks! Love it

[@HuntressWorgon]

Had to sub to your patreon asap, I think I was your first subscriber unless it hadn't updated haha. Your videos brighten my day when I see a new upload, keep up the good work! Would absolutely love to see a video on the willie wagtail, they are my favourite birds ❤

[@the-Backyard-Naturalist]

Thank you very much! I'm thinking about shorter vids to cover one off species like willy wagtails or currawongs, which I'll be able to get out faster.

[@HuntressWorgon]

@@the-Backyard-Naturalist would absolutely love to see them :)

[@TheRafinx]

Going to a sheep farm, sometimes the sheep have trouble getting up and get stuck on one side. One of the sheep we found missing an eye because of a Maggie or Raven eating it.

[@the-Backyard-Naturalist]

Yeah ravens go for the eyes, it's brutal. Guess what happened to that fish...

[@hadrianfry]

@@the-Backyard-Naturalist ...it went to a sheep farm?

[@calnar]

Blame Sam Kekovich

[@trevorlewis847]

i remember lambing seaspn on the farm 60s there was always a cpl with their eyes plucked out,was always told dont have hungover bloodshot eyes if you got pet raptors maggies crows etc n you handle them every day cause you will lose an eye or two,fuk that😂

[@Beaut_Beau]

Mate i don't know what it is but your sense of humour just has me cackling out loud all the way through your videos, thank you so much for another corker!

[@459luker]

they are just such amazing birds. So cheeky and so funny. Those stories cracked me up. Stealing bin liners, unzipping back packs, taking out drones, smashing windows with golf balls... lol. They are so funny.

[@SIMUL4CR4]

Love how you actually got a pic of Adelaide for reference. Very educational. 10/10

[@tarshnottrash1483]

Love these guys …. Such an iconic sound & childhood memories. Had a family nest in our yard &was so much fun watching their antics

[@jameslarson3355]

1 Minute in and I already know you've gone hard in the paint for these precious buggers 👍

[@JezzaN1]

"I blame Sam Kekovich for radicalising our ravens" definitely my favourite, brand new sentence

[@mums_poop_sock]

I love this series so much

[@andyl8055]

Another awesome video from the Alliterative Artisan, I mean Backyard Naturalist.

[@toquinn9514]

I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoy these videos. They are so well done! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@jackaufenhand5710]

I get so excited when I see you've uploaded. Thank you!

[@suzyq4183]

Education though humour - just the best.

[@Rakanarshi2]

Was honestly expecting Currawong to be on this list. Was shocked that it wasn't lol. They are Strepera

[@SomePerson7271]

I absolutely adore your vids. From the silly nicknames, to the information, to even just the editing, your videos are gems, and brighten my day every time you post. Stay safe❤❤❤❤

[@the-Backyard-Naturalist]

Thank you!

[@Pablo668]

There are two Ravens who live much of the time in out yard. Three big trees, a few small ones, a bit unkempt, they love it. Also a human or two who feed them from time to time. They trust us enough to rook their young here every year. Great birds. We also have a similar relationship with a small family of Magpies. The two species have a cantankerous relationship, but do mostly tolerate each other.

[@ingridschroder282]

Can we just appreciate the absolute poetry that is this man's script? "Gothic garbos" is literary genius. But seriously the entire video was full of alliteration and fancy names I love it.

[@MM-yi9zn]

So love them. A couple visit me twice a day. Cannot help but feed them as they are so patient & just wait & wait.

[@lisab301]

I grew up on a sheep farm and can confirm that the will kill lambs. During the drought we had a few years when the crows would sit and wait about 1 or 2 meters away for the mother to give birth and then dive in when she was still down. The little shits would know if you had a gun with you to fly away and if you didn't they would just sit there... mockingly.

[@byronblake1312]

Another Amazing video! You should do one about the brush turkey next.

[@TraumaQueen65]

I rescued a fledgling Crow this summer, during a heat wave. He's since been released but comes in every morning for some breakfast and to help me feed the chooks

[@chickennugget6684]

Ravens, the sound of an Aussie winter morning

[@kylo_ben]

I’m an INTJ and I adore these birds

[@ZETA8384]

this channel is fantastic... i have never been interested in any of this stuff until i started watching your vids... very engaging!!!! keep up the good work mate..

[@jess53nz]

Intj here! Hilarious and informative as usual. And good to know which i saw /heard in tassie!

[@PetermusPrime]

Great stuff. Informative and entertaining as always. Looking forward to the next one.

[@qbmac2306]

So, the Adelaide Crows should really be called the Ravens if I'm understanding this correctly.

[@relwalretep]

They're from Adelaide, so should we care 🤷🏻‍♂️?

[@the-Backyard-Naturalist]

They should, but it wouldn't roll off the tongue as easily.

[@Civman-yr8lb]

@@relwalretep Definitely.

[@AnthonyRooney-be2tx]

​@@relwalretepis that why they fly on their back over Adelaide ?

[@freeman10000]

The West Coast Eagles should be called the Seagulls 😊

[@shakeelali20]

Backyard naturalist has slowly become my new guilty pleasure channel. Watching someone "appreciate" birds the same way I do, with a unique Aussie twang makes my week!

[@Beaut_Beau]

Guilty pleasure? That is what something trashy like MAFS is, whereas the videos on this glorious channel are about as guilt-free as entertainment gets! Witty humour, clever word play, fascinating footage, excellent music and educational too!

[@shakeelali20]

@@Beaut_Beau You know what you're right! Nothing guilty about watching this channel for fun, laughs and education!

[@milksheihk]

The main corvid seen in western regional NSW is significantly larger than the ones I've seen when visiting Melbourne, I haven't seen them in inner Sydney. The ones I saw in Melbourne were smaller than a Magpie, the ones I get locally are quite large, like a magpie to one of them looks like a pee wee does to a magpie.

[@DMan-it5tq]

I love these videos! They're a factual delight and a vocabulary lesson in one!

[@Axodized]

Yes! another Backyard Naturalist video, and it's about CORVIDS 🔥

[@ThermoGlitch]

Mate your videos are amazing. I love this sort of content and it’s so interesting to watch! Keep it up man love ya work

[@monky4640]

I'm glad you're bringing the wonders of the Australian wildlife to the public, keep it up 👍

[@SkittlesTheParrot]

Another great high quality video as always ...I love your humour on our most inconic birds of Australia 😅 And that emu clip had me rolling with laughter and sorrow Cheeky buggers 😂

[@gracchigracchi8935]

Thanks for all your videos

[@eddieboi4277]

Finally I know what species of corvid I'm hearing!

[@user-ge3wh6vu1b]

I absolutely adore your vids. From the silly nicknames, to the information, to even just the editing, your videos are gems, and brighten my day every time you post. Stay safe

[@thecyclamen9106]

Hilarious video mate! I feel you have to be truly Australian to appreciate the brilliance of this video.

[@VanCanN]

Love your videos!! So informative and funny.

[@Jms_Hcy]

love your videos mate!

[@m136dalie]

Brilliant. Looking forward to the next one already

[@leekarssen]

Love your vids mate!

[@RatRatRatty]

Love Ravens! They even have Pub trees here where they gather in groups at sunset and caw at each other, like they are catching up over a drink, lol. The most eerie experience with them that I saw was when I was at Uni and around 300 Little Ravens were sitting around on all the trees, building roofs, railings, just cawing and staring down at everyone walking by. People were really nervous. Another time I gave one a few hot chips from lunch, which the bird loved and then flew off, only to bring back about 6 of its family to join in a few minutes later. I didn't have enough chips for that! Cheeky birds!

[@johne1431]

Well done, great and clever narration, cheers

[@joshanderson9391]

My favourite birds! Thanks for making such a good video

[@lynneross319]

I never knew they had different length of calls. I’m going to listen more carefully now. Top video as always.

[@saphey]

i've been waiting in suspense for this since i first asked on your magpie video -- this is simple amazing! thank you so much for all the effort you put into these. you have a perfect balance of education and comedy :)

[@steved8610]

As a Melbournian, the Little Ravens are a very common sight. You see them at the beach, down the landfill or commercial composting site. You also see them near the local brothel too! (Don't ask how i know this😳) They are very intelligent birds who are also very timid. It honestly doesnt take much to spook one and it'll take off. They scavenge something chronic everyday, roadkill is a favourite of theirs I've just subscribed to your channel, narration is funny and great!. Can't wait to see more bird related videos!

[@Seancloudsss]

Awesome video. Informative and amusing. Well done :)

[@BrisbaneBroncosfan67]

For indigenous stories about crows and ravens, I know of one that I think is from the Gubbi Gubbi people on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. It says that all birds used to be black, until one day a cockatoo (or maybe some other bird) had a pain in its foot. All the other birds came to help it except for the crow. One of them poked the foot of the cockatoo and colours shot out, giving all birds their unique colours and patterns. But because the crows weren’t there, they are still black. And they’re still annoyed by that, so that’s why they steal things. I think I messed up a few of the details but that’s basically how it goes.

[@maddybelo]

Another great addition to this series 😆 Keep up the awesome work! Always loved the corvids, some of my favourite birds.

[@iONandBob]

Excellent footage, another great presentation.

[@christaylorvu]

Excellent video, love the humour, thoroughly enjoyed it!

[@katherinekarr8799]

I love these videos. So informative and entertaining

[@tomc5165]

Another solid video. Well done!

[@Peleski]

There's only two places I tend to notice ravens, cemeteries and nowhere places where you think you just might get murdered by a nutter

[@the-Backyard-Naturalist]

I wanted to film them in a cemetery but instead there were heaps of currawongs

[@wilsonspreadborough5815]

Brilliant video! Keep it up 😊

[@dippetmcgeechie6508]

Love reading the comments here, but just quietly this presentation of the channel is so good, I’ve learned so much because it’s quick, entertaining @ in my backyard (some of them 🎉) 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@taviaseymour1635]

I haven’t even got a minute and a half in and I’m laughing out loud and have to comment on the embedded stills -the capital cities killed me. I needed lols this morning and here are lols in abundance. Bless you, you dry witted naturalist.

[@minixt9835]

Another great video about our aussie wildlife

[@Kenn3rgy]

A fantastic mix of info, aussie humor and epic maymays. I salute your hard work sir

[@Hereford567]

Once again a fantastic vid.

[@ritac2508]

Thank you for this upload! I'm from Melbourne and when I was recently in Sydney I definitely heard the difference in their calls! You just explained why!!

[@Vinemaple]

This was a refreshing change of pace from TierZoo and Casual Geographic, as much as I love those two channels!

[@PistachioDean]

Your word play is immaculate, my friend

[@Alexander361cmongimmieahandle]

I live in Melbourne. My house mate fed some cheese to a corvid, happy smile on his face like that Justin Bieber meme, proclaiming that he's made a new (only?) friend. Well, he did, and it came back, and made a nuisance of itself around our back porch, picking through our stuff (the trash he leaves around outside mostly) and shitting everywhere. He then realised his mistake and started using the hose to scare the bird away, but it kept coming back most days for quite a while. He also said that "Nah," that's not the same bird he fed. He fed a crow, but the bird that was shitting over our porch and relocating the trash he didn't throw in the bin was actually a raven. To find out the difference, I then asked ChatGPT what the difference between a raven and a crow was, even though I knew my house mate was full of bird shit, but your video was way better. Like way, way better. Good content mate, cheers.

[@GarageSupra]

haha the sheer number of alternative names you gave them in this video is worthy of a standing ovation! Bravo

[@akicarus9508]

so glad i found this channel, the bruce's never fail to entertain.

[@abekane7038]

It was a pleasure to watch your video. cheers mate

[@tyronedlisle4412]

This channel is so great.

[@h4wk5t4r]

An excellent assessment of an underappreciated bird!

[@bismosca6481]

Thank you for making this! I love these birds

[@rileyandrew4377]

What the hell this is so good. Cannot wait to correct people who misidentify Australian ravens. Subbed and rubbed (one out).

[@sjshar1510]

Done the basic patreon, will upgrade soon. Keep up the great work!