Tricksters, messengers, fire-bringers: crows and ravens have been woven into human history | Kim V Goldsmith

Australia has three native corvid species, but their unearned reputation for cruelty and an all-too-human cleverness makes them unlikely to win a popularity contestThe Australian bird of the year poll launches on 25 September 2023Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletterJoin the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the communityThose who have experienced an Australian dawn chorus will know just how special our songbirds are. Within the somewhat discordant mix of melodies are many who will no doubt be favourites for Guardian Australia's 2023 Australian bird of the year. But will the Corvidae family be in the running, even with the Australian raven on the shortlist? Not likely.The Corvidae includes crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, Eurasian magpies, treepies, choughs (though not the Aussie ones) and nutcrackers. Australia has three native types of raven and two types of crow. Being generalists, Australians tend to call them all "crows". Telling them apart can be tricky unless you're close enough to see the base of their feathers - crows have white at the base and ravens have grey - or you're familiar with the differences in their calls. Continue reading...