Just spent three lovely weeks in Melbourne and noted a large population of crows/ravens in suburban Melbourne. What I did notice was unlike the Sydney suburban "Australian Raven" the ones in Melbourne seemed a little smaller in size, lacked the neck hackles and called in a higher pitch.
So what are these birds called? I glanced through my bird books came up with the best answer is the "Little Raven", or maybe they are the "Forest Raven" (no description or picture found). Maybe someone in Melbourne who knows their ravens/crows can solve my puzzle.
Another interesting observation in Melbourne, was the lack of Sacred Ibis roaming the city and suburbs, unlike Sydney where they are considered a nuisance and aggressive pest. Raven.
Hi Raven. We don't get Forest Ravens in Melbourne and their call is a lot lower pitched. So you're seeing Little Ravens.
Ninox
Ninox
NInox is right about that. The Little Ravens are quite common around the suburbs while the Australian Raven is somewhat less common than them.
Cheers, Owen.
Many thanks to Ninox and Owen1, question answered and solved, thought it was the Little Raven, just as entertaining and clever as its big cousin in Sydney, the Australian Raven.
Was sitting waiting for the train at Noble Park and observed a Little Raven check out the contents of the platform rubbish bin, jump in, and removed a take-a-way box and then strip the box with its beak to access the leftovers in side. Must be a regular as the bird never even flinched when the train came in and continued on dining!
Ravens are very clever and great to watch. They have a system of using different calls to talk to each other and tell others when they find food. They are also extremely good at finding and locating their food and they eat a very wide range of things.
Cheers, Owen.
At a former workplace I had two Australian Ravens I used to feed at work over a period of around four years. The male was very cocky and confident where the female was very wary and kept her distance. When he was really hungry he used to follow me about the yard and attempt to get my attention, he would lower his head down and tap his beak to indicate hunger. Fellow workers told me he only appears when I am on duty, he could see the yard from the gum tree they roosted and nested in about 200m away. All the left over chicken and roast meat scraps would be given to him and the family, this year they raised four young ones, although one disappeared. The year before they raised three young. My raven friends are now on a Jenny Craig diet as I changed jobs a couple of months back. I got to learn his "happy" noises and his "thank you" gargle and rattle and would mimic him back. It took four years to get him to come about 6 feet away from me whilst the female would always stay on top of the pole. Very intelligent bird but not widley liked by people.