Gordon Lindsey, age 10, of Austin, Texas, for his question:
WHERE CAN YOU FIND A RAVEN?
A raven is a large black bird that belongs to the same family as the crow. You'll find it living in all parts of the Northern Hemisphere, from Greenland and Alaska on the north to Guatemala on the south.
Wingspread of the raven may be as wide as three feet. The bird itself may grow to be 26 inches long.
The raven's feathers have a slight purple luster. There is often a touch of dull green on the belly. The feathers at the neck are usually dull gray at the base.
Three kinds of ravens live in North America: the American raven, the northern raven and the white necked raven.
The American raven is the most common. It lives in the western United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast, and also in Canada.
The northern raven resembles the American raven, except that it is larger and its bill is longer and heavier. It lives in Alaska, Greenland and as far south as Washington. It has also been found in northern Michigan, New York and Maine, and in the mountains of South Carolina.
The white necked raven lives from Texas to Southern California and from western Kansas to Mexico.
The raven usually builds its nest on cliffs although some ravens build in trees. The nest is usually built in the late winter and is made of sticks. The raven will line the nest with bark, moss, cattle hair, wool, seaweed, grasses or even rabbit fur.
The female raven usually lays from three to eight eggs of a light greenish color with many brown spots.
The big birds eat dead fish and frogs, mussels, grasshoppers, crickets, worms, clams, the eggs of waterfowl and young birds.
A number of different kinds of birds have been known to live longer than 50 years. Ravens, as an example, have been known to live as long as 69 years.
The black luster of the raven's feathers have given the word "raven" special meaning. It is used to describe the color of hair that has a black luster, as in "raven hair."
The raven is also one of the first birds mentioned in early history and mythology. It is mentioned in the Bible as the first bird sent out from Noah's Ark.
Birdwatchers in the field often find it difficult to distinguish the raven from the crow. You have to be sharp to see that the raven is larger and that it has a more guttural croaking call than some of its cousins. The raven also has shaggier throat feathers, although this is something difficult to discern at a distance.
Also, the raven has not fared so well in competition with mankind as some of his smaller relatives. It is found now only in the wilder, uninhabited parts of its range.