Corvus corax
Corvus corax
The common raven has a Holarctic distribution, occupying numerous habitats (BirdLife International, 2024). In Europe, it is absent from some Atlantic areas of France and Belgium, with presence from south to north in the boreal zones (Keller et al., 2020). In Spain, it occurs across much of the peninsula, Ceuta, and the Balearic Islands (López del Pozo in SEO/BirdLife, 2022). It also breeds in the Canary Islands as the endemic insular subspecies Corvus corax canariensis, on all the islands (Siverio et al., 2016; SEO/BirdLife, 2018).
In the Community of Madrid, it is mainly found in the mountains and the southwestern tip, with scattered populations in the eastern half. It occupies a wide variety of environments, although in Madrid it clearly prefers mountain broomlands and pine forests (Díaz et al., 1994).
Within the national park, it has a broad distribution; it has been recorded both in the lower foothill areas and on higher-altitude slopes and summits. It occupies a wide variety of habitats and zones within the park. The highest abundances occur in the southern half, although it remains a frequent bird along the ridges and passes extending from the Peñalara massif to the northern end of the park.
It is an opportunistic species that uses a wide variety of food resources. It shows a preference for open spaces, from sea level to high mountains, although it can also be common in moderately sized forest formations. It establishes its territories in areas with low levels of human disturbance. Although it nests in large trees, it prefers cliffs, escarpments, and rocky outcrops, so in mountainous environments with rock formations it can often be detected (López del Pozo, 1992).
In the national park, its highest densities are in open environments, being recorded in shrub areas, meadows, and rocky outcrops during foraging periods. It nests on cliffs, making it frequent in that habitat, but it also builds nests in trees, although it uses the forest mainly for nesting locations.
At the global scale, it is considered in the Least Concern category (LC; 2017). In Europe, it would also be classified in the same category (LC; 2021). In Spain, the peninsular populations are considered in the Least Concern category in the 2021 Red List, while the Canary Islands populations are considered Vulnerable.
The Catalogue of Threatened Species of the Community of Madrid (1992) does not consider the species in any threat category.
BirdLife International 2024. IUCN Red List for birds. https://datazone.birdlife.org.
Díaz, M., Martí, R., Gómez-Manzaneque, Á. y Sánchez, A. 1994. Atlas de las aves nidificantes en Madrid. Agencia de Medio Ambiente y SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Keller, V., Herrando, S., Voříšek, P., Franch, M., Kipson, M., Milanesi, P., Martí, D., Antón, M., Klvaňová, A., Kalyakin, M. V. Bauer, H. Gr y Foppen, R. P. B. 2020. European Breeding Bird Atlas 2: Distribution, Abundance and Change. European Birds Census Council y Lynx Edicions. Barcelona.
López del Pozo, F. J. 1992. Contribución al conocimiento de la biología y ecología del cuervo (Corvus corax Linnaeus 1758) en la Península Ibérica. Tesis doctoral. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Madrid.
SEO/BirdLife 2018. Actualización de la información sobre las poblaciones de cuervo (Corvus corax canariensis) en las islas de Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, El Hierro, La Gomera y La Palma. Informe inédito para Gobierno de Canarias.
SEO/BirdLife (Molina, B., Nebreda, A., Muñoz, A. R., Seoane, J., Real, R., Bustamante, J. y Del Moral, J. C., eds.) 2022. III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Siverio, F., Siverio, M. y Rodríguez, B. 2016. Actualización de la información sobre las poblaciones de cuervo grande (Corvus corax canariensis) en Tenerife y Fuerteventura, islas Canarias. Informe inédito para Gobierno de Canarias.