Common Raven | Corvus corax |  L 24″ (61 cm)

Large, with long, heavy bills, appearing on a bracelet I lost that very same road trip, but I didn’t stop thinking about ravens for a single day after I first time I saw them. Shaggy throats, I noted, but didn’t know what it meant, as I kept squinting at every black bird with a pulse to see if I could identify the bird to which I was newly and wholly devoted.

Voice: I learned to hear, that trip, what a raven really was. It wasn’t just the croaks and caws, it’s clacking and clicking and contemplative calls. I bought a DVD all about ravens and that narrator, too, had a voice I could listen to for hours.

Range: Found in a variety of habitats– hey, me and you both, great gothic bird. Can be seen from mountains, to coasts, to deserts. On occasion, a mated pair will nest and pass on their stunning genetics in the middle of pandemic and give you a reason to get outside every day, just to see if their little one has made the great leap from the government building’s window ledge.