The COVID-19 pandemic has been the “corvid” one for me, presenting an opportunity to study Australian crows beyond the single species than occurs in Tasmania.
Crows and ravens appear to have been a constant backdrop of lockdown and self-isolation.
Some may see crows as portents of doom as portrayed in ancient folklore, omens of evil. For me they have been a pleasant distraction, taking my mind off the reality of life disrupted on and off by the disease.
Life with COVID, life with the crows came to mind on an inner-city Melbourne street in December, as I delivered supplies to my actor son who was isolated in his flat after contracting COVID during rehearsals for a play.
As my wife and I left food and a take-away coffee on his doorstep, a curious Melbourne corvid, a little raven, flew to a nearby tree, and watched what was going on. No doubt the raven was thinking there might be a COVID bonus for itself.
Much has been written over the past two years about how COVID-19 and its restrictions have created an opportunity for wildlife observation, people under lockdown becoming aware of the wildlife literally on their doorstep.
It has also created a surge in interest in birds, especially, and prompted an increase in membership of bird-watching organisations worldwide.
In my own case, it has inspired a renewed interest in members of the corvid family other than the forest raven.
Further afield, I have never paid much attention to the other four species of raven and crow found on the mainland, mainly because there are more exciting and colourful bird species to track down there.
That changed when I saw the little raven eyeing me and the packages for my son, during a disrupted short break in Melbourne.
Separating Australia’s raven and crow family members – indeed separating ravens from crows – is no easy matter for Australian birdwatchers. They all have the general all-black appearance, with white eyes. Ravens also have white down under flight feathers and crows grey, an identification feature hard to distinguish in the field.
Identification usually comes down to the song and, listening to the Brunswick corvid, I could hear a marked difference to the forest raven’s guttural notes. The forest ravens have a deep, long-drawn-out caw, while that of the little raven on the south-east mainland has a higher, shorter note.
Australia has three raven species, the Australian, little and forest raven and two crows, the Torresian and little crow and they rarely overlap.
During these COVID times I have learned that the crows can be separated not just by field marks but by their location. Each major city has its own corvid ambassador: little raven for Adelaide and Melbourne; Torresian crow for Brisbane and Darwin, Australian raven for Perth and Sydney, and, of course, forest raven for Hobart.