Bird length is not a straightforward matter. Most field guides give it as offering some kind of help in appreciating size. The Australian Bird Guide departs from that practice, giving instead wing, bill length and weight (these generally
taken from HANZAB). Among the reasons for not giving length: ‘the measurement [is] typically taken from dead specimens stretched into positions that are never assumed in life. Trying to reconcile the total lengths presented in books with those observed in
the field can therefore be confusing.’ (ABG does offer a scale on the illustration pages.) HANZAB does not give tabulated lengths in the Plumages section but does provide length in the field identification section ‘in gross terms, as a guide to the size
of the bird’.
Bearing in mind that warning, the following given ‘lengths’ (cms) might be noted:
Aust Raven: HANZAB 46-53; Pizzey 48-52
Little Raven: HANZAB 48-52; Pizzey 48-50
From weights and other size info in HANZAB it is clear that males are larger than females so a female A Rav might be no bigger than (or even smaller than) an individual Little Raven.
Relative sizes might only be an issue if you see both species together – and particularly if you are counting species. The below is a selection of snaps from Trucking Yard Lane last week when a single A Rav was squabbling with 4-5 Little
Ravens at the remains of a deceased duck. You can correct my tentative labelling, if you like.
