Northern Raven

Northern Raven (Corvus corax) is a very large all-black corvid with a massive bill, shaggy throat, long wings and a wedge-shaped tail. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It occupies an extraordinary range of northern habitats, feeding opportunistically on carrion, small animals and plant foods, performing acrobatic flight and nesting on cliffs, trees or structures. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).