Thick-billed Raven

About the Thick-billed Raven

The thick-billed raven (Corvus crassirostris) is a large passerine bird in the family Corvidae. It is endemic to the Horn of Africa, including parts of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Somalia. The thick-billed raven shares with the common raven the distinction of being the world's largest corvid.

The thick-billed raven averages 64 cm (25 in) in length, with a range of 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in) and weighs approximately 1.15 kg (2.5 lb) in females and 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) in males on average. Its size is about the same as the largest subspecies of common raven (i.e. those from the Himalayas and Greenland/Canadian Northwest Atlantic) but some common raven subspecies are rather smaller and, going on average weights, the thick-billed raven is likely the heaviest extant passerine. The thick-billed raven is about 25% heavier on average than the Australasian superb lyrebird, which is sometimes erroneously titled the largest passerine.

Its bill is laterally compressed and is deeply curved in profile. This bill, the largest of any passerine at 8–9 cm (3.1–3.5 in) in length, is black with a white tip, with deep nasal grooves and only light nasal bristle covers. This raven has very short... Wikipedia →