# Common raven (*Corvus corax*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-raven  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common raven (Corvus corax) is a bird in the family Corvidae, part of the order Passeriformes and the group of songbirds and other perching birds. It is in the small size class, with an adult body mass of 928 g (from 689 g to 1.625 kg) and a wingspan of 1.35 m (from 1.2 m to 1.5 m). The common raven is a terrestrial omnivore of forest habitats and is partially migratory, with a geographic range of 52,290,000 km². It lays 4.8 eggs per clutch with 1 clutch per year, incubates them for 19 days, reaches sexual maturity at 3 years and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 689 g – 1.63 kg |
| Length | 63 cm |
| Wingspan | 1.2 m – 1.5 m |
| Lifespan | 21.8 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 69 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 19 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.8 |
| Age at maturity | 3 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Corvidae
- genus: Corvus
- species: *Corvus corax* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Corax sylvestris minor*, *Corone maxima*, *Corvus corax leptonyx*, *Corvus corax pamirensis*, *Corvus corax sibiricus*, *Corvus corax tschuiensis*, *Corvus corax ussurianus*, *Corvus fangshannus*, *Corvus leptonyx*, *Corvus magnus*, *Corvus major*, *Corvus montanus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the common raven?

The common raven is a bird in the family Corvidae and the order Passeriformes, within the group of songbirds and other perching birds.

### How big is the common raven?

The common raven has an adult body mass of 928 g, ranging from 689 g to 1.625 kg, and a wingspan of 1.35 m, ranging from 1.2 m to 1.5 m.

### What does the common raven eat?

The common raven is an omnivore.

### What habitat does the common raven live in?

The common raven lives in forest habitats and has a terrestrial lifestyle.

### Is the common raven endangered?

No. The common raven is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the common raven live?

The lifespan of the common raven is given as 21.83 years, with values up to 69 years reported.

### How many eggs does the common raven lay?

The common raven lays 4.8 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year and an incubation period of 19 days.

### Who named the common raven?

The common raven was named Corvus corax by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Common raven (Corvus corax). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-raven