In this part of the country the Corvid family includes blue jays, gray jays, crows, and ravens. And ravens – Corvus corax – are the smartest of this intelligent family, actually their brain to body ratio is on par with whales and the great apes. Ravens are pretty common in New Hampshire, probably more common than you think since at first glance they look a lot like crows. But there are some key differences between these two big black birds. First, ravens are bigger, their wingspan is almost four-feet across, as big as some of the hawks we have in New Hampshire. And while crow tail feathers are squared off, ravens are diamond-shaped. The beak is another distinctive trait with the raven’s much larger respective to the size of its head than is the crow’s. Aurally, their calls are also pretty different. Crows have of a “caw,” while ravens emit a more guttural “croak.” Of course, all corvids are mimics, and ravens have been known to master a multitude of different sounds. One YouTube clip