Common Raven (Corvus corax)
The Common Raven, also known as the Northern Raven (Corvus corax), is tied with Africa’s Thick-billed Raven (C. crassirostris) as the world’s largest species of songbird and is often considered to be the most intelligent of any bird species—or at least tied for that distinction with other members of the genus Corvus.
They also have an enormous range across much of the northern hemisphere, north to above the Arctic Circle and south into the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Therefore, Common Ravens inhabit a wide range of habitats. Since they are not particularly migratory (and are one of the few bird species to be found above the Arctic Circle even in winter), they have diverged into about a dozen distinctive geographic variations. I have shown C. c. principalis, found throughout most of North America.
But therein lies a mystery from my youth. I live in the Greater Toronto Area, between the boreal forests of the Precambrian Shield just a few hundred kilometers to the north, and the Appalachian Mountains just a few hundred kilometers to the south and east, as the raven flies. While ravens were common in both those regions, we had no ravens where I lived. Now we do. They have filled the gap and moved into my area—still far from abundant, but the day I started this painting, late last year, two flew over my head as I was thinking about my painting while filling my garden bird feeders. I looked up when I heard them call. I chose to deem their appearance to be a good omen.
Their low croaking call, very different from that of crows, is oddly pleasing to me. I am not sure why—maybe it is just because I am so fond of them.
This painting, which took months to do, is life-size, 38 by 26 inches, in oils, on wood. Ravens mate for life, and I have shown the female above her mate.
For the full text, please contact:
Barry Kent MacKay, Bird Artist, Illustrator
Studio: (905) 472-9731
Email: mimus@sympatico.ca
Website: fineartamerica.com/profiles/barry-mackay