Raven — Birds

The story behind the answer

Ravens have a heavy, curved bill, shaggy throat feathers (hackles), long narrow wings, and a distinctly wedge-shaped tail; they also give a deep, resonant croak rather than a sharp caw. These traits mark the largest corvid and separate it from similar relatives.

To tell them apart quickly: crow tails look squared or fan-shaped in flight and voices are higher “caw”; magpies are striking black-and-white with very long tails; jackdaws are smaller with pale eyes and a grey nape. Ravens are famously intelligent—capable of problem-solving and tool use—and feature in mythologies worldwide. Memory tip: the V-shaped tail makes the V in raVen.