Common Raven
(Corvus corax)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

This common, year-round resident inhabits nearly all parts of the country. Results from the Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count indicate that populations have increased markedly in Canada since about 1970. Strong and continuing population gains across the country suggest that there is little conservation concern for this adaptable species.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• eBird Canada 2018
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Reasons for population increases of this resourceful and opportunistic predator are not well known but likely include reforestation of cleared agricultural land and reduced use of poisons and other forms of persecution by humans (Boarman and Heinrich 1999). Some human activities, such as logging practices, have been found to reduce Common Raven populations while others, such as the creation of garbage dumps, have been found to increase populations (Boarman and Heinrich 1999).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Boarman, W.I. and B. Heinrich. 1999. Common Raven (Corvus corax), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Boarman, W.I. and B. Heinrich. 1999. Common Raven (Corvus corax), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)