A raven is the larger of the two birds, with a deep, croaking call, while a crow is smaller with a sharper, cawing call. Size and voice are the giveaways: a big bird with a low croak is likely a raven, a smaller one with a quick caw is likely a crow.
The core difference
Raven and crow both name large black birds in the same family, distinguished mainly by size and the sound of their call.
- raven — a large, glossy black bird in the crow family, known for its deep call and intelligence: a raven perched on the fence post, watching them work.
- crow — a large black bird with a harsh, cawing call: crows are known for being remarkably intelligent birds.
How to tell them apart
Because a raven is technically a member of the crow family, the two names overlap in the same way toad and frog do, with raven picking out the larger, deeper-voiced species. Size and call are the most useful field clues: ravens are noticeably bigger and croak rather than caw.
Raven also does double duty as an adjective for a deep glossy black, most often describing hair, while crow has picked up its own separate life as a verb, meaning to boast about something, or, for a rooster, to make its loud call at dawn.
