Common raven

Corvus corax Today, 3 October

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

now moulting 72 days

moulting Bird here all year

The whole year

15 September – 14 December

the coastal calendar, shifted 14 days later for this region

Sitting the year outGetting readyYoung aboutYoung leaving

Where to look

Cliffs and quarry walls inland and on the coast; the tumbling display flight is unmistakable.

Worth knowing

The earliest breeder on this page — eggs in February, in snow on Velebit — because the young are timed to the lambing and winter-kill carrion peak. Pairs hold the same cliff for decades.

Look it up

photos, sightings and recordings, off this site

iNaturalist — photos and where people are seeing it Wikipedia — Corvus corax xeno-canto — recordings of the call

Regions

where this species is on the list

Dalmatian coastKvarner and IstriaVelebit and the DinaridesSlavonia and the Pannonian plainTukhlia, Ukrainian Carpathians

Phase by phase

dates as they fall in the region chosen above

Phase	When	Length	What it means
courting	15 December – 2 February	50 days	Song, display, fighting, scent-marking — pairs forming or reaffirming.
building	3 February – 5 March	31 days	Nest, burrow or den under construction, or being lined out.
on eggs	6 March – 28 March	23 days	Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
raising young	29 March – 14 May	47 days	Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed.
young have left	15 May – 28 July	75 days	Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults.
young dispersing	29 July – 14 September	48 days	Young leaving for good, looking for a territory of their own.
moulting	15 September – 14 December	91 days	Feathers or coat replaced. Many birds go quiet and hide while it happens.

Other birds in this region

Barn swallowBlack storkCommon cuckooCommon nightingaleCommon swiftEurasian scops owlEuropean bee-eaterEuropean robinGreat spotted woodpeckerGreat titHoopoePygmy cormorantTawny owlWhite stork

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