History Main / RavensAndCrows

[[redirect:RavensAndCrows]]

[[quoteright:180:[[Literature/ChildBallads http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheTwaCorbies.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:180:The Twa Corbies]]

->''"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows."''
-->-- '''Henry Ward Beecher'''

[[DarkIsEvil They're dark]]. They sound ominous (''quark''). They'll eat just about anything they can find, including dead bodies on the battlefield or corpses hanging from the gallows.

Crows and ravens (both corvids) are serious--and seriously creepy--wherever they show up. (Except for the IdiotCrows.) In most of their fictional appearances, they are the go-to scary bird (at least when vultures aren't available), and are traditionally associated with death in many mythologies and cultures.

A group of crows is a murder; a group of ravens is an unkindness or conspiracy (and rooks are a building or parliament, jackdaws are a clattering)[[note]]Poetically speaking, anyway; in ornithological terms, a group of birds is always a flock, regardless of species[[/note]].

On the other hand, corvids are also very clever. This is TruthInTelevision, as the Beecher quote shows. They may feature a crow as the DeadpanSnarker or the TricksterMentor. While crows and ravens are genuinely capable of speech in RealLife, their speaking voices are almost cartoonish, although they have the ability to modulate their voices to be deep, booming or just creepy, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA9KTw07Ax0 hear it yourselves]].

Because they are so visually similar, in many visual media it can be hard to tell whether the bird in question is meant to be a raven or a crow (note that some Old World crows are gray with black head and wings; in Eastern Europe, where this subspecies is ubiquitous, no troubles exist telling ravens from crows). There is little if any difference in how they are treated; however, ravens are more likely to cross over into BigBadassBirdOfPrey territory)[[note]]Technically, corvids are passerines, or perching birds; some raven species are the largest passerines in the world[[/note]]. They'll often have the behavior of a crow, but be called "ravens" because the word "raven" [[RuleOfCool sounds more badass]].

Corvids suffer from a strange sort of form of the ConservationOfNinjitsu. A single crow will probably be intelligent (and, if one of the bad guys, will also take an unnerving interest in the heroes). On the other hand, a whole murder of crows/congress of ravens will just be [[ZergRush mindless animals possibly under the control of something or someone external]]. They are also sometimes associated with ScaryScarecrows. Of course, the significance of various numbers of corvids (often magpies; see description of ''MagpiesAsPortents'' trope below) is the subject of some OlderThanFeudalism superstitions. Sometimes corvids are shown more-or-less positively (although ravens are usually (but not always) more likely to be heroic characters than crows), and in this case their traditional characteristics are [[DarkIsNotEvil portrayed in a better light]]. Heroic ravens are often wise or intelligent characters, while crows tend to be friendly tricksters or PluckyComicRelief.

[[SubvertedTrope On the other hand,]] crows (never ravens) are a ''staple'' of TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, appearing in countless funny cartoon shorts set on family farms, where their role is to drive farmers nuts gobbling up their corn crops. Cartoon crows are always played for humor and aren't the slightest bit scary, though they can certainly be ''annoying'' to the farmers (and the occasional living scarecrow). They tend to be ScrewySquirrel tricksters.

Crows and ravens tend to fall under the TricksterArchetype. WhatMeasureIsANonCute is a matter of some disagreement. For more creepy birds, see FeatheredFiend, but also see the note on scavengers in CarnivoreConfusion. For magpies, closely related both in RealLife and in tropes, see ThievingMagpie, which is about magpies' compulsion to steal, particularly shiny objects (any magpie-related examples related to thievery should go ''there'' and not ''here'') and also MagpiesAsPortents (any magpie-related examples related to the "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy" nursery rhyme or to omens should go ''there'' and not ''here''). For black feathers used as symbolism, see FeatherMotif.

{{Shout Out}}s to EdgarAllanPoe are [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore so commonplace as to be cliche]].
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* Uchiha Itachi in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' uses crows as part of his genjutsu. He can hide them inside his victim's body to deliver time-delayed brainwashing techniques.
* The STNJ ( ''WitchHunterRobin'' ) are headquartered in Raven's Flat, and crows and ravens are featured heavily in the series.
* The main antagonist of ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' is a monster raven. And his DarkMagicalGirl 'daughter', Princess Kraehe. And all their {{Mooks}}. [[spoiler: He also manages [[BalefulPolymorph to turn the entire town into ravens]] toward the end of the series. This was considered a bad thing.]]
** This is somewhat complicated in the ADV dub, where they use the words ''raven'' and ''crow'' more-or-less interchangeably (because the Japanese word ''karasu'' is used for both). They're pretty consistent for the Monster Raven, but everything else varies from line to line.
* Rei Hino from ''Manga/SailorMoon'', aka Sailor Mars, has a pair of crows named Phobos and Deimos (Named for the Moons of Mars) Let's just say that, in the manga, they aren't ordinary crows... [[spoiler: They're [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting aliens]] from the planet Coronis whose job is is to protect Sailor Mars]]. They aren't this in the anime and only appear briefly as the shrine's pets and aren't named at all in the live action.
* Tatsunoko's ''{{Karas}}'' movie series depicts a crow warrior as the main character (''karasu'' is Japanese for ''crow'').
* Setsuna Sakurazaki in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' is a crow [[HalfHumanHybrid half]]-[[{{Obake}} demon]], though she was born with [[HeroicAlbino albinism]], which caused her to get cast out of her tribe since white crows are seen as a bad omen. This shows up as angelic white wings that [[WingedHumanoid sprout from her back]].
* Crows frequently appear when something is about to go bad in ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent''. Which is ''all the time''
* Bad Bird & the Ninja Crows (or Karamaru & the Karasu Clan, if you prefer) of ''SamuraiPizzaCats'' fame.
* The 1st ''{{Patlabor}}'' movie has a memorable scene involving Noah being menaced by a room full of sinister-looking, possibly mind-controlled crows in a ShoutOut to Hitchcock's ''TheBirds''.
** Birds, especially corvids, also show up in numerous pivotal scenes of the second movie, as well. Director MamoruOshii seems to be using them as a visual motif for the schemes of criminal masterminds who try to put themselves above the common people with their manipulative games: E.Hoba in the first movie & Tsuge in the second.
* Toto, from ''TheCatReturns'', is a stone statue shaped like a crow that is able to come to life. He enjoys pestering and insulting Muta, but is good friends with the Baron and very sweet when talking to Haru. He and his crow friends also play an important role at the end of the movie [[spoiler: by preventing the rest of the gang from falling to their deaths.]]
* The crows in ''HaibaneRenmei'' bridge the line between Glie and the outside world. One acts indirectly as a spiritual guide for Rakka, and is implied to be some reincarnated loved one.
* ''SerialExperimentsLain'''s [[AnimeThemeSong intro song]] features a murder of crows perched all over the streets Lain frequents. Around the end, the camera focuses on a single crow.
* In the Korean {{manhwa}} ''Manhwa/{{Ragnarok}}'' there's Muninn and Huginn, Odin's beholders. They are able to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshift]] from crows with necklaces of eyes and fangs into human women.
* ''GhostInTheShell'' uses these as a metaphor for individuality: when Batou is debating [[SmugSnake Goda]] on how a Stand-Alone Complex can be used to unite the people, we see an albino crow flying amongst a murder of regular crows.
* There's a lovely example of this in the first ending for ''Manga/DeathNote''. [[VillainProtagonist Light]] is standing by water, surrounded by doves -- except that his reflection is surrounded by crows instead.
* A three-eyed crow demon is one of the first enemies that ''Manga/InuYasha'' and Kagome encounter and it sort of kicks off the series.
* Nii Jienyi of ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' is sometimes associated with carrion crows as well as with [[BunnyEarsLawyer rabbits]] when in his mad scientist guise. When in his guise as [[spoiler: Ukoku Sanzo]], the crow imagery goes crazy. [[spoiler:Ukoku translates literally as "a single crow cried", after what was going on in the background when he killed his master. He wears an unusual dark-colored variation of the standard flowing white sanzo robes, and the sleeves often look like wings when he strikes from above. In response to a young Hazel's distaste for corvids, Ukoku says that in Chinese folklore there's a good raven that lives in the dark spots on the surface sun...which seems to be an as-yet cryptic link to the extensive sun symbolism in the series.]]
* A solitary crow often appears alongside Black in ''TekkonKinkreet'', and in the MindScrew-fueled climax [[spoiler: a single dove being overtaken by crows is used to symbolize [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind Black's mind being overtaken]] by the Minotaur.]]
* In ''Manga/WildWind'', Sukari is a shape-shifting messenger crow and has the personality to match.
* Satan has a pet crow named Malpha in AkumaNaEros, and can give it the human form of an ''adorable'' young boy. When he does so, he renames the crow Tsubasa and intends to make him pass as Miu's little brother. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Miu is so surprised that she accidentally drops Tsubasa to the ground.]]
* Sebastian of ''BlackButler'' is either a crow or a raven, the writers never quite tell us.
* Crow in ''YuGiOh5Ds'' plays a deck of Blackwings, Dark-attribute monsters that evoke this. DarkIsNotEvil though, and he's a good guy who's a FriendToAllChildren.
* Crowmon / Yatagaramon in ''[[Anime/DigimonSavers Digimon Data Squad]]''. is a [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turned]] hero.
* Although the corvids in ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'' attack Kiki at first, she later learns from [[ReclusiveArtist Ursula]] that they are tame.
* Gilbert Nightray of PandoraHearts has the Monstrous Raven as his Chain (read: EldritchAbomination monster) of choice. It attacks using blue flames.
* In the ''Anime/MaiHime'' anime, [[spoiler:Shiho's]] Child is Yatagarasu, named after the messenger from the gods in Shinto canon. It has one leg instead of three, possibly signifying that "loyalty, truthfulness and devotion" are replaced by the user's {{Yandere}} nature.
* In ''MaiOtome'', the Valkyrie unit's armor was designed to invoke the actual raven-like image of the Valkyries, especially when they're in the form for fast movement.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ballads]]
* Literature/{{Child Ballad|s}} 26 "[[http://www.bartleby.com/40/12.html The Three Ravens]]" features three ravens discussing dinner. They mention a dead knight, but his body is being protected by his hawk and his hounds, and his true love comes to bury him and die of grief. It has a much more cynical variant, "[[http://www.bartleby.com/40/13.html The Twa Corbies]]", where the ravens instead discuss how the dead knight's hawk, hound, and lady have all deserted him, so they can eat his corpse.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]
* Matthew the raven in ''ComicBook/TheSandman''. Matthew is friendly, not a trickster (though a bit of a wise guy), pleasant and the most loyal guy in the Dreaming.
** As noted above, Poe shoutouts are common. This is subverted when Matthew gets on top of a bust to shout "'''Nevermore!'''", only to say that he took it from "Peter Lorre in that Creator/RogerCorman movie", not knowing that the movie is an adaptation of Poe's ''Literature/TheRaven''.
* [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales Scrooge McDuck's]] ArchEnemy Magica de Spell had a pet raven. Who is actually her enchanted brother. [[FurryConfusion Yeah...]]
** Only under one writer. Most of the time her pet raven is just a raven, and it depends on the writer whether he's a TalkingAnimal, or just a relatively ordinary representative of the Corvidae.
* Nestor, [[Disney/SaludosAmigos José]] [[Disney/TheThreeCaballeros Carioca's]] friend from the Zé Carioca series.
* ComicBook/{{Raven}} from ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' (and its [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans animated spinoff]]). She's a DarkIsNotEvil hero (when not being [[GrandTheftMe possessed]] or [[BrainwashedAndCrazy mind-controlled]] by her EldritchAbomination father) whose magical powers often use a corvid motif.
* Hans Huckebein, the unlucky raven, is the main character of a story by Creator/WilhelmBusch. While not overtly sinister, he is a malicious, destructive prankster who [[spoiler: dies by accidentally hanging himself when drunk at the end of the story.]]
* Merlin from ''ComicBook/DraculaVsKingArthur'' has this motif, including a pet raven by his side.
* Jonathan Crane of the ''{{Franchise/Batman}}'' comics, better known as the supervillain [[ScaryScarecrows Scarecrow]], is frequently seen and associated with corvids. In various appearances he has a pet raven named Nightmare or a crow named Craw, and uses a flock of crows to attack Batman in ''Haunted Knight''. On the other hand, in one version of his origin his FreudianExcuse involved his [[TheFundamentalist fanatically religious]] great-grandmother setting trained crows on him as a punishment.
* A different villain named the Scarecrow, originally from the ''[[ComicBook/IronMan Iron Man]]'' comics but later used as a [[ComicBook/GhostRider Ghost Rider]] villain, is a contortionist turned SerialKiller who uses trained crows to ZergRush his victims. In his first appearance during the Silver Age, the crows were stolen from another performer and used to aid in robberies.
* Crawford Crow from ''The Fox and the Crow'', a comic book spin-off of [[WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheCrow the show of the same name]], is a [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] ScrewySquirrel who constantly harasses his hapless neighbor Fauntleroy Fox, although they occasionally have EnemyMine moments.
* One ''[[TheFarSide Far Side]]'' panel featured the caption "Tools of the common crow" and depicted a crow standing next to some fresh roadkill, holding a spatula in its beak.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
* In "Literature/TheGratefulBeasts", Ferko, [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence blinded and crippled]] [[CainAndAbel by his brothers]], rests under what he thinks is a tree; it's a gallows. Two crows talk on it, and he hears how he can cure himself.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/pentamerone/25raven1911.html The Raven]]", the king sees a dead raven on white marble and thinks, ""O heavens! and cannot I have a wife as white and red as this stone, and with hair and eyebrows as black as the feathers of this raven?"
* In [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm Grimms']] "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/93raven.html The Raven]]", the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen queen]] [[BeCarefulWhatYouSay rashfully]] {{curse}}s her daughter [[{{Animorphism}} into a raven]], and the hero must rescue her.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/6faithfuljohn.html Faithful John]]", [[OldRetainer Faithful John]] hears of the peril the king and his bride are in from ravens.
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/hoodiecrow.html The Hoodie-Crow]]", [[BalefulPolymorph the hero is turned into a hoodie-crow]].
* In "Literature/TheSevenRavens", the brothers were turned to ravens.
* In Creator/AsbjornsenAndMoe's ''Literature/TheGiantWhoHadNoHeartInHisBody'', a raven is one of the helper animals.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* Fanfic/AlexandraQuick plays with this. The wizarding world plays it straight by associating ravens and crows with dark wizards and witches. Alexandra picks a raven as a familiar, both to screw with people's expectations of her and to say bullocks to the conventions. Said familiar, Charlie, subverts the trope. Jury's still out on whether Abraham Thorn's association with them is a subversion or a straight example.
* In the fanfic [[FanFic/DarkSecrets ''Dark Secrets'']], Evil![[RonTheDeathEater Ron]] uses a raven to spy on [[MarySue Jaiden Spencer]] and [[DracoInLeatherPants Draco Malfoy]] for him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'', crows appear to be one of the few types of animal who can visit the Land of the Dead while still alive. Both times Victor is pulled down to the Land of the Dead by Emily, they're surrounded by a flock of them. Crows also live in Elder Gutknecht's tower -- he uses their feathers and eggs for magical purposes.
* In ''WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory'', the BigBad is eaten alive by crows, who he is frightened of for most of the movie. In a deleted scene we learn that he lost his eye [[EyeScream because a crow pecked it out]].
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'', in which the crows are the Designated PluckyComicRelief Species. One of them, Jeremy, is a KindheartedSimpleton, a CowardlyLion, and an ally of Mrs. Brisby, although his attempts at helping her [[StopHelpingMe don't usually end well]].
* The crows in ''Disney/{{Dumbo}}'' are at first derisive, then helpful (the MagicFeather was their idea).
* Maleficent in ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' has a pet raven named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Diablo]] that appears to be the only thing she trusts or cares about. It's also her only competent henchman, apparently.
* Ravens serve as the heralds of doom in ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfKells'' for both Vikings and Crom Cruach.
* In the animated movie ''{{Valhalla}}'', Hugin and Munin, the pet ravens of Odin, are awesome and they give helpful advice to the main character.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'', a crow named [[MeaningfulName Wounded Bird]] is a parody of the MagicalNativeAmerican characters that appear in [[SpaghettiWestern Spaghetti Westerns]]; however, he helps the title character on several occasions and is shown positively.
* The witch in ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' has a crow as a familiar.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat'', crows represent black people, much like in Dumbo.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/TheVirginSpring'', as Ingeri and Karin enter the woods and approach the scary, ominous cabin of a creepy hermit, a raven appears and squawks. The creepy hermit is strongly implied to be the god Odin, granting Ingeri's wish for a curse on Karin, who is promptly raped and murdered.
* In ''Film/TheAvengers'', when Thor hauls Loki off to the mountaintop for their "discussion," a pair of ravens can be seen briefly flying past the screen. These are presumably their father Odin's ravens Hugin and Munin.
* James O'Barr's ''Franchise/TheCrow'', both the film and the graphic novel version, has the bird as a kind of guide and familiar to the undead avenger protagonist. In the film version, if the crow dies the avenger becomes mortal again, but doesn't lose his other powers.
* Jake from ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'', the elderly Brooks' pet bird.
* In Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Film/TheBirds'', crows in particular feature in a memorable sequence in which they [[AdultFear slowly gather at a schoolhouse]] while the children sing an IronicNurseryTune, the main character not noticing what's going on until there are ''hundreds'' of them.
* The eponymous bird in Creator/RogerCorman's ''The Raven'' is a [[BalefulPolymorph involuntarily shape-shifted]] wizard.
* In the movie of ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'' the scene of Buckbeak's execution has crows all over the area being just as sinister as they can be.
** However, a less malevolent raven appears with a student at the end of the last film, suggesting that wizards keep them as pets.
* In the new ''Film/SherlockHolmes'', Lord Blackwood, whose father notes at one point has been followed by death his entire life, is also followed by a rather sinister black bird.
* In ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', Agent Smith's arrival is heralded by a flock of crows. This is done because in older, superstitious cultures, crows showing up was [[RuleOfSymbolism considered to be a sign]] that something bad was on the way.
* In ''The Bird War'', the villain is a FeatheredFiend named Fagin, but it is never specified if he is a crow or a raven.
* Like in the book, ravens and crows are generally an ill omen in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''. The "crebain from Dunland" that Legolas sees near the Misty Mountains are implied to be servants of Saruman.
-->'''Gandalf''': The Enemy has many spies ... beasts, and birds ...
* The evil queen Ravenna in ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'' uses a corvid motif, and is able to transform into a flock of ravens at will, while her minions change into a murder of crows when killed. However, some [[MagpiesAsPortents magpies]] serve as Snow White's friends and allies.
* A flock of crows are heard at the beginning of the Holocaust drama ''Film/{{Conspiracy}}''. Crows commonly symbolize death, so the connection to the planned genocide is quite obvious.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Wildwood'' by Colin Meloy, Prue's brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows.
* In Creator/PeterSBeagle's ''A Fine And Private Place''; a raven helps and cares for the protagonist, Jonathan Rebeck, who lives in a graveyard, giving him food and, later, news.
* In Hiromi Goto's ''Half World'', crows can fly between the mortal world and Half World, and even serve as a literal bridge. They also follow Melanie [[spoiler: whose parents came from Half World]] around, which makes her classmates think she is creepy and are one of the reasons she is bullied. Subverted in that they are [[DarkIsNotEvil her allies]], eventually helping her fight the BigBad.
* In Creator/JRRTolkien's works, crows are generally in the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Forces of Evil]]. (Also note Théoden's unflattering epithet for Gandalf, "Stormcrow.") [[TalkingAnimal Ravens, on the other hand]], are friendly and intelligent, exceptionally long-lived, and [[BindingAncientTreaty allied with the dwarves]]; they helped Bilbo and company in ''Literature/TheHobbit''.
** In the "Lay of Leithien", Beren returns to the hiding place of his comrades to find they have all been killed and crows are feasting on their bodies. Then he hears the crows mocking him for arriving too late to save his companions.
* In ''Literature/KingCrow'', this is half played straight and half averted. The crow is clever but not spooky, even though it makes its first appearance on a battlefield (setting up an AndroclesLion situation).
* Literature/HarryPotter: Ravenclaw House, although intelligence is its defining trait and it is not the most sinister of the Houses. [[InNameOnly Despite the name]], Ravenclaw's mascot is an eagle.
* Mat from the ''[[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Wheel of Time]]'' series is based on Odin and acquires a ring with ravens on it late in the series. He also has a BladeOnAStick with an inscription referencing "Thought" and "Memory", the names of Odin's two ravens. In the 11th book he even [[spoiler:becomes the Prince of Ravens through marriage]]. The Dark One uses ravens as spies, and at one point early in the series a huge flock of them is shown patrolling a forest, swarming and completely stripping the flesh from anything that breaks from the cover of the trees.
* Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Literature/ThroughTheLookingGlass'' invokes one from NurseryRhyme, and then it shows up to stop the fight in truth.
-->''Just then flew down a monstrous crow,\\
As black as a tar-barrel;\\
Which frightened both the heroes so,\\
They quite forgot their quarrel.''
** Speaking of Lewis Carroll: "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?" There is [[RiddleForTheAges no real answer]] but Lewis Carroll himself suggested: "Because it can produce a few notes, though they are very flat; and it is ''nevar'' put with the wrong end in front!"
** Another answer: "Poe wrote on both."
* Crows and Ravens both are a significant motif in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', invoked in the very title ''A Feast For Crows''. They aren't portrayed as mystical, rather ravens are used the way carrier pigeons would have been in the real world Middle Ages -- but given [[CrapsackWorld the invariably depressing nature of the messages sent in this series]], they're still seen as bringers of bad news ("Dark wings, dark words").
** A very rare breed of ''white'' raven exists, [[AmplifiedAnimalAptitude significantly more intelligent]] than the black kind. They can be trained to talk, and Jeor Mormont's bird has an unsettling habit of saying all-too-appropriate, or outright [[InfallibleBabble prophetic-sounding]], things.
* Due to the presence of Odin in the story, there are some in Creator/DouglasAdams's novel ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeaTimeOfTheSoul''.
* [[IncrediblyLamePun Quoth the Raven]] (he was named by a wizard who thought it was funny) in various ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels. He isn't mean, but he isn't wise either--really, he's just hungry. And he [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore does not say the N word]]!
** It is mentioned offhand that ravens used to be the patron bird of Blind Io due to their intelligence. Ravens seem to have an obsession for eating eyeballs (if Quoth is any indication). Consider the fact that Blind Io has dozens of disembodied eyeballs floating around him, and [[HilarityEnsues one sees why ravens are ''no longer'' his patron bird]].
** ''Small Gods'' revealed that this trope's members have an even more disreputable Klatchian relative, the scalbie, which resembles a crow that's caught mange and is too lazy to fly. Scalbies will eat things that make a vulture sick. Scalbies would ''eat'' vulture sick. Scalbies eat anything.
** The conspiracy of ravens living in the rooftops and towers of Unseen university are intelligent enough to be able to speak and stupid enough to be completely annoying.
* The seventh book in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' takes place in a small village that's just overrun with crows. Later books mention or imply that [[MilkmanConspiracy V.F.D.]] uses them as messenger birds.
* Subverted in Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'', in which corvids are for the most part benevolent or jokers at worst. The wise raven Sallowpad served as a royal advisor for the Pevensies, as shown in ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'', while a pair of jackdaws are comic relief in ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew''.
* ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'': John Usglass, the magician-king of Scotland and northern England, is known as the Raven King.
* ''Literature/AnimalFarm'' has Moses the raven, who is something of a TricksterArchetype. Like all the animals, he has a MeaningfulName: he represents the Orthodox Church that was banned, then revived in communist Russia.
* In ''The Crow Chronicles'' by Ranjit Lal, a [[EvilAlbino white crow]] named [[OverlyLongName Shri Katarnak Kala Kaloota Kawa Kaw Kaw]] is an EvilOverlord. His [[TheDragon lieutenant]] is [[MeaningfulName Depraven Craven Raven]].
* ''[[Literature/{{Redwall}} Mattimeo]]'' features General Ironbeak, the raven leader of a flock of other AlwaysChaoticEvil birds that attack Redwall Abbey. His second-in-command is a crow seer. Weirdly, they are the [[CarnivoreConfusion only birds of prey]] in the series who are [[CardCarryingVillain very definitely villains]].
** Seventeen books later, ''Doomwyte'' features an evil corvid cult that lives underground, including ravens, crows, and magpies. They are led by a raven named Korvus Skurr.
* Subverted in the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfPrydain'' with Kaw the crow, who, although talkative and mischievous, is an ally of the good guys. Kaw starts out as the TeamPet, though he later becomes a real hero.
* Creator/NeilGaiman has the goddess Bird in ''Literature/AnansiBoys'' portrayed as ravenlike. When she starts sending all birds in the world
after Spider, it edges into this trope, [[Film/TheBirds Hitchcock-style,]] but mixes it up by also throwing a violent flock of flamingos at him.
** ''Literature/AmericanGods'' features Odin as an important character who, at one point, sends a raven to guide the protagonist, Shadow. The raven is able to repeatedly speak the name of the town where Shadow is supposed to go next, and nothing else... until Shadow tries to coax it into saying [[Creator/EdgarAllanPoe "nevermore"]], at which point it replies "fuck you" and flies away.
* Jim Butcher's ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series uses crows as a symbol of death and battle constantly. "Crows" is also commonly used as a swear word, likely for the same reason. They are not considered very clever, though.
** People are quite accustomed to them appearing on a battlefield to feast on the dead. [[spoiler: A bit ''too'' accustomed, when the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Vord]] hide their [[MarionetteMaster Marionette Masters]] in a murder of crows.]]
** In ''Cursor's Fury'', when the flag of one of Tavi's units is charred and resembles a crow, the soldiers embrace it, becoming the "Battlecrows", so that their foes know the crows are coming for ''them.''
* In ''Literature/TheEdgeChronicles'', white ravens are often feared as omens of death. For the most part they are voracious, scrawny scavengers, but at least two white ravens are shown as relatively friendlier and can speak due to being taught by sapient creatures.
* In Creator/PatriciaAMcKillip's ''Literature/TheBellAtSealeyHead'', once Emma opens a door to find [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess]] Ysabo surrounded by a dozen crows. This proves to be part of a ritual which Princess Ysabo is bound to. [[spoiler:And in the end, they proved to be [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting transformed]] [[KnightInShiningArmor knights]].]]
* In ''Literature/DragonRider'' by Cornelia Funke, the main villain, Nettlebrand, employs flocks of [[RedEyesTakeWarning red-eyed]] ravens as {{Mooks}}. It turns out that [[spoiler: these ravens aren't real ravens at all, but enchanted crabs.]]
* Huge flocks of reanimated crows called Gore Crows feature in Creator/GarthNix's ''Literature/OldKingdom'' series. An entire flock is animated by a single Dead spirit and [[ZergRush acts with a singular purpose]]. On top of it all, being reanimated doesn't mean they've stopped decomposing.
* Corvids are a slightly unusual pick for Tayledras Bondbirds in Creator/MercedesLackey's Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar books (most choose various falcons and hawks). Ravens are known for being huge even by bondbird standards (which are invariably larger than their unmagical counterparts) and among the most intelligent birds, able to compete with humans. Crows are known as tricksters, and unusually gregarious- Tayledras who choose to bond with them often bond with an entire flock instead of the normal single bird.
* One of Haruki Murakami's books, ''Literature/KafkaOnTheShore'', features a teenager who gets occasional pep talks from his ImaginaryFriend, Crow. [[MindScrew Exactly what Crow is, and whether he's real or not, can be rather unclear to readers.]]
** Of note here is that Kafka actually ''means'' crow, in addition to being a reference to [[Creator/FranzKafka Franz]].
* Mordred, the demon son of Roland in ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', commands the crows at the castle of the Crimson King. Cue EyeScream for the one person unlucky enough to meet him.
* Crows/ravens are a big symbol of Randall Flagg, the satanic villain of ''Litearture/TheStand''. Really obvious in TheFilmOfTheBook, as mentioned below.
* Charles de Lint's ''Literature/{{Newford}}'' series has the Crow Girls. The series is heavily influenced by NativeAmericanMythology, so it doesn't have quite the same connotations as many of the others listed on this page; they're trickster-ish, but mostly just playful young girls (ambiguously aged). There's also Jack Daw and a few other characters who fall into this bird type.
* [[Literature/TortallUniverse The Trickster]] books by Tamora Pierce feature a flock of crows. They're portrayed as very intelligent and curious birds, and they help the main character as part of a bargain with their god. They are considered by the people as 'brothers', and can, literally, change into human form, [[spoiler:which comes in handy when the good guys are outnumbered during an assault]]. One even chooses to remain in his human form, [[spoiler:and becomes the Hero's LoveInterest]].
* The [[Literature/TheSecretsOfTheImmortalNicholasFlamel Nicholas Flamel]] series has Morrigan the Crow Goddess, who, during her first appearance, sends an entire army of birds after the heroes.
* In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'', the school master has a raven for a daemon. John Faa in turn has a crow, [[spoiler:and later Mary Malone's daemon turns out to be an alpine chough]].
* Stephen Bauer's fantasy novel ''Literature/{{Satyrday}}'' centers on the attempts of the protagonists - an orphaned boy, the satyr who raised him, a fox-spirit, and a sympathetic raven named Deirdre - to combat a malevolent owl and his plot to kidnap the Moon (who is a character in her own right). The owl has forced vast numbers of ravens to serve him, with some of them "JustFollowingOrders" a bit too enthusiastically, [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch while others question the owl's regime]]. Deirdre is interested in persuading the other ravens to abandon the owl.
* Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/{{Ravenor}}'' and ''Ravenor Returned'' have the sheen birds, mechanical birds that were created to live in a city where the pollution would kill most unprotected wildlife. [[spoiler: They work for the Unkindness, controlled by heretics to perform assassinations almost like a force of nature, using their collective sharp-edged wings to strip victims down to their bloody bones.]]
* Ravens are a constant motif in the books of Elaine Cunningham. In the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' novels they are everywhere, from Liriel's representation in a prophetic vision (and later nickname) to a named character. Shopscat, a [[CoolPet pet raven]] of Curious Past shop (''Thornhold''), is able to say several meaningful phrases and has discouraged many a thief with his sharp beak.
--> '''Shopscat''': Think about it.
* In ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising'', rooks (a corvid relative) are the agents of the Dark and appear at various points either as spies, harbingers of doom, actual receptacles of evil (the attack on the church on Christmas comes to mind), or simply to look ominous. There is some confusion as to whether they are genuinely wicked or merely misled and controlled by the villains; most of the time they seem rather mindless, and never do they cause any outright harm, but Merriman later says that they "chose to aid the Dark" or words to that effect, a choice they regretted when the Wild Hunt harried them to the ends of the earth. In any event, after book two the rooks are never shown to cause any problems again, whether they were freed from MindControl or simply learned their lessons and decided to stay neutral from then on.
* Crows appear in ''[[Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents The Vile Village]]''. The town is called VFD which stands for "Village of [[IncrediblyLamePun Fowl]] Devotees". They've infested the town, a la ''Film/TheBirds'', but no one seems to mind.
* ''Literature/InTheKeepOfTime'': Before the children go to the past, a dark omen of sorts occurs in the form of a starving black bird trapped in the tower, and it falls to its death after they startle it from a window ledge. Later, when the children are returning to the present, another such bird swoops down on them right as they are turning the key.
* In Creator/RobertEHoward's ''The Hour of the Dragon'', ConanTheBarbarian's escape is plagued by a crow.
* Subverted in ''The Crows of Pearblossom'', a children's book by Aldous Huxley (yes, [[Literature/BraveNewWorld that]] Aldous Huxley). The main protagonist is a perfectly agreeable mother crow trying to protect her eggs from a rattlesnake.
* In ''Feather And Bone: The Crow Chronicles'', crows are the protagonistic species and live in strictly organized groups, with their own culture and folklore.
* Corvids in general, especially magpies and crows, are the resident AlwaysChaoticEvil species in the fantasy novel ''One For Sorrow, Two For Joy'', in which they are mostly portrayed as either stupid, sadistic, or AxCrazy and kill smaller birds [[ForTheEvulz for fun]].
* The narrator of the ''Raven Mysteries'' by Marcus Sedgwick is a old raven named [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore Edgar]], who is the OldRetainer for the mostly DarkIsNotEvil [[DarknessVonGothickname Otherhand family]]. While he is rather grouchy and a DeadpanSnarker, Edgar is apparently [[OnlySaneMan one of the smarter characters]], usually helping the family's children [[HardyBoysInvestigation solve mysteries]].
* In ''[[Literature/{{Stuck}} Stuck at the Wheel]]'', the gang led by The Shadow is named the Crows and their calling card is a black crow feather.
* In ''Literature/{{Krabat}}'', the boys are turned into ravens when they get lessons in (dark) magic.
* In ''Literature/GuardiansOfGaHoole'', crows are more antagonistic than the benevolent and helpful ravens, although both [[spoiler: are willing to help the owls in the battle during the last book.]]
* The title character of Creator/CharlesDickens's ''Barnaby Rudge'' has a pet raven, Grip, who repeats his words back. Yes, they are [[TruthInTelevision known to do this]].
* Subverted in ''Literature/WelkinWeasels'' - ravens are mentioned as being [[DarkIsNotEvil the most honorable of birds]], while [[LightIsNotGood doves]] are the most treacherous.
* At the end of Nancy Springer's novel ''I Am Mordred'', Mordred, who is treated sympathetically, is transformed into a raven to rejoin KingArthur after death.
* In ''Literature/TheSeaOfTrolls'', [[spoiler: the Bard]] is magically changed into a crow, is nicknamed Bold Heart, and becomes the TeamPet until he changes back at the end of the book.
* In Creator/WenSpencer's ''Literature/{{Tinker}}'', Lain talks of how tengu can assume crow form.
* In Creator/RickRiordan's ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' novel ''The Mark of Athena'', Annabeth, deducing the secrets of the ghosts' Mithras cult, scolds one ghost for talking when it was merely a raven, the lowest order of initiate.
* In Creator/RobinMcKinley's ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'', Sunshine's original name was Raven. [[MeaningfulRename Her mother, tearing her away from her father's family, renamed her Rae.]]
* In a flashback chapter of the web-novel ''Literature/{{Domina}}'', Akane's father has a [[NamedWeapons sword named]] "Karasu," which he translates as "raven." Although technically that is correct, it would be more accurate to translate it as "crow." Maybe the Japanese word for raven (watarigarasu) didn't sound cool enough.
* In Creator/AletheaKontis's ''Literature/{{Enchanted}}'', one pirate sent to deliver gifts is Crow.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's Literature/TimePatrol story "Delenda Est", crows fly over the battlefield.
* In Creator/JulieKagawa's ''Literature/TheIronFey'' series, this is one of Puck's favorite non-human forms.
* A straight example in Lee Maracle's novel ''Ravensong'', Raven is a trickster figure and forms part of a GreekChorus.
* In ''Literature/RachelGriffin'', an oversized Raven with [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] is seen, seemingly an enforcer of the ExtraStrengthMasquerade. It is later revealed that while ravens in general are merely heralds of "bad luck," that particular Raven is an omen of [[ApocalypseHow the death of worlds.]]
* Crows are among the minions of the Wicked Witch of the West in ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', and they also figure heavily in the Scarecrow's backstory - when he was unable to scare them, an old crow taught him about how important brains were.
* On a similar note, Elphaba uses crows given to her by Princess Nastoya in ''{{Literature/Wicked}}''.
* In the ElementalMasters series, Nan's familiar is a raven named Neville, who chose her when she and the rest of her school were visiting the Tower of London. Neville is much more intelligent than the other ravens, and starts speaking in a sequel book, when it becomes necessary for him to communicate with people other than Nan. It is stated that Neville's father is also intelligent, and formed a similar bond with the previous Raven Warden, leaving with him upon retirement.
* In ''Literature/{{Survivors}}'': ''The Empty City'', a crow appears in important parts in Lucky's life.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Raven, the host of the children's fantasy game show ''Series/{{Raven}}'', (who is actually a metamorph rather than a bona fide bird), is a subversion of the norm in terms of personality--he's a pretty nice guy, who's probably supposed to be more SternTeacher and MrExposition than anything else. He was also, apparently, an [[{{Backstory}} immortal Celtic warlord]] which fits the trope somewhat closer.
* In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Data dreams of a raven who leads him to Dr. Soong, who built him. It's revealed in a different episode that Dr. Soong liked dinosaurs, which suggests the raven might also be an android. Birds = {{Badass}} [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs Dinosaurs]].
* In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', Seven of Nine also dreams of a raven; in this case it's because her family's ship (upon which she had been assimilated) was called the ''Raven''.
* ''Series/SixFeetUnder''. Ravens never appeared in the actual show but the season trailers, DVD boxarts and the awesome opening sequence frequently featured a raven to symbolize the show's close connection to "death". The trailer for the fifth season had a shot of the raven dead as a means of {{foreshadowing}} the DeadlyDistantFinale.
* When Christopher Moltesante becomes a made man in ''Series/TheSopranos'' a raven (or crow) appears in a window as the ceremony is taking place. Chris and his girlfriend later argue about the good or bad luck portents associated with seeing a crow or raven.
* ''Literature/TheStand'': Flagg is represented by a raven many times in the miniseries, although allusions are made in the novel.
* In ''Series/{{GameofThrones}}'', [[http://www.joesdaily.com/media/top-10-game-of-thrones-memes/ everybody]] must [[InstantMessengerPigeon send a raven]].
* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Raven occurs at every crime scene and several other times. They are really creepy and disturbing. {{Lampshaded}} by Mulder when Skinner asked him about them while he was assigning him the case.
-->'''Skinner:''' Ravens. What do you know about them -- their mythological or... paranormal significance?
-->'''Mulder:''' Well, the, uh... the... the raven is considered a... a very powerful symbol in certain Norse, Celtic and Native American cultures. Uh, mostly, a negative one. Indians view it as a deceiving spirit, Christianity mostly associates it with evil and, then, of course, there's Poe's ''Raven'' and, "nevermore"... and all that stuff.
* Crows make frequent appearances in ''Series/{{Ravenswood}}'', not to mention that the towns name is ''Ravens''wood. Also [[spoiler: in one episode after the contract that created the curse is signed by the town fathers Gabriel Abbadon turns into a crow]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* In the mythology of the Music/InsaneClownPosse, corvids are a means by which the dead watch and act upon the world of the living.
* "Ravens" by Ultima Thule.
** See also a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVOGWhneqDk fan clip]] with video part from ''Crow''.
* Crows appear as a motif in a lot of the {{Gorillaz}} artwork, and the song "O Green World" features one squawking over the instrumentals.
* The song "Crows" by The Gothic Archies (a side project of Music/TheMagneticFields' Stephen Merritt), which was written for the audiobook of [[ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents The Vile Village.]]
* The song "[[GraveRobbing Grave Robber At Large]]" by Music/CreatureFeature begins with the sound of ravens cawing.
* Referenced in the third verse of ''Aviary'' by Music/EgoLikeness, which is about [[FeatheredFiend rather sinister birds]] in general.
--> In come the blackbirds
--> In murders and in droves
--> To cover you in shadow
--> As they clean you to the bone.
* "Krähenfrass" by German Band Subway to Sally is based on "The Twa Corbies" mentioned above: Two crows are discussing dinner. They find a dead soldier and while eating him talk about how he is no different from his foe and how they love war and death because it provides them with food - as it is "der Soldaten Sinn und Zweck" (spirit and purpose of a soldier). However, the crows are also shown to be much more caring towards each other than humans are.
* The promotional animated music videos for Music/QueensOfTheStoneAge 's ...Like Clockwork album by Boneface have ravens hanging around the city before the apocalypse, one raven trying to snack on the body of an unnamed man in bloody bandages it thought was dead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology]]
* [[NorseMythology Odin]] had two ravens as companions. Their names, Hugin and Munin, suggest that they are his literal Thought and Memory. He sends them out all over the world each day to reconnoiter, and then they sit on his shoulders and tell him what they have seen.
* {{Valkyries}} were shown to be more fearsome and frightening in many earlier depictions, often decorated with crow-related features (such as crow feather cloaks or even feathery black wings). These were possibly inspired by sights of various scavenger birds feeding on corpses after large battles. Later as the Norse Mythology began to be swallowed up by Christians, the Valkyries were [[OurAngelsAreDifferent overlapped with the more benevolent, similarly serving Angels]]. Nowadays they're almost always depicted as being [[WingedHumanoid beautiful human-like creatures with feathery white wings]] but the older depictions are popular again.
* In Ovid's ''Literature/{{Metamorphoses}}'' when Neptune chases Cornix, Athena turns her into a crow. Unusually in GreekMythology, this actually enables her to get away.
* In a Greek myth, the crow was once white and served Apollo. When it reported that his lover Coronis was cheating on him, [[ShootTheMessenger Apollo turned its feathers black as a punishment]].
* The Japanese Tengu, half-man, half-crow monsters that were telepathic martial artist tricksters.
* Raven is one of many [[TricksterArchetype trickster heroes]] in Native American mythology. In more than one case, the raven is actually the creator of the universe.
* The crow has a role of the creator of the world in Australian Aboriginal mythology.
* Frederick Barbarossa is [[KingInTheMountain asleep in a mountain]] until the ravens stop flying about it; he wakes every now and again, long enough to send a boy to check for them.
* There's a story that says that the if the Tower of London's famous ravens ever leave it, the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. After two major disasters struck London in as many years, the king decided he didn't want to find out if bad luck really comes in threes, so he had several ravens' wings clipped to make sure they'd never leave. All but one raven died during UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, they restocked the tower after the war with new ravens... The King was told at one point that Ravens were disturbing a scientist's work, and that they must be killed. Of course, that meant bad luck, so the King reached a small compromise - he got rid of all but 7. Since then, there are always meant to be 7 ravens in the tower grounds. They do, however, keep a few extra so they can easily get another if one dies. Which is also where the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time comes from -- the ravens were disrupting the Royal Observatory at the Tower, and rather than take the risk of getting rid of the ravens, Charles II moved the observatory to Greenwich.
* In JapaneseMythology, Yatagarasu is a [[RuleOfThree three legged crow]] with three magatamas who reports to the Sun goddess Amaterasu. The three-legged crow of the sun is the counterpart to the rabbit of the moon in most Asian mythology.
** Yatagarasu is also associated with a more obscure japanese sun god, Terashi Haru-omikami.
* Two [[CelticMythology Celtic goddesses of war]], the Morrigan and the Badb, took the form of a crow or raven to watch over battlefields. The Morrigan, in crow form, was present at the death of Cú Chulainn, who she had a [[StalkerWithACrush complicated]] [[{{Yandere}} relationship]] with.
* The 'Alala was occasionally kept by Hawaiian priests to translate the speech of the Land Snail and other spiritual creatures into human language so that the wishes of the natural world and the gods may be better known.
* In HinduMythology, the mount of the ''Navagraha'' Shani is a raven or vulture.
* Similarly to the Book of Genesis, Utnapishtim of ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'' sends a raven and a dove to search for land. The raven does not come back, causing Utnapishtim to realize that it found a place to rest.
* In ChineseMythology, there were once ten suns, each inhabited by a crow. When all ten suns rose at once, the archer Houyi shot nine of the ten crows to prevent the world from burning up.
* In one of AesopsFables, a crow fills a pitcher with pebbles to reach water, a behaviour which has been observed [[TruthInTelevision in real life.]] In contrast, jackdaws (crow relatives), are usually foolish characters, and occasionally crows are, too (as in ''The Fox and the Crow'').
* In some stories, KingArthur was reborn as a raven after his death.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Opera]]
* In Creator/RichardWagner's ''[[Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen Götterdämmerung]]'', Siegfried is killed while he's looking at Wotan's ravens flying overhead.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinball]]
* Creator/SternElectronics' ''Pinball/StarGazer'' has an ominous raven on the playfield accompanying the game's HotGypsyWoman {{Astrologer}}.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Poetry]]
* Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's ''Literature/TheRaven''. Which, incidentally, has a lot to answer for in how the genus has been portrayed since. People tend to miss the fact that the bird isn't evil, per se, just a reminder of the narrator's lost love.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Professional Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/{{Raven}} (real name: Scott Levy). He took his name from the Poe work, and ends his promos with [[CatchPhrase "Quote the Raven: Nevermore."]]
* Wrestling/{{Sting}}'s "black with white facepaint" attire is nicknamed "Crow Sting" by fans.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Religion]]
* In Literature/TheBible, ravens get several mentions, mostly in the Old Testament:
** A raven was one of the first birds released from Noah's Ark. Unlike the doves, the raven 'kept going and returning' (rather than searching) until the land dried up enough.
** The book of Leviticus--which consists of laws and priestly codes--forbade eating ravens as they were considered unclean.
** In the book of Job, God asks Job if he knows who feeds the raven when its young are starving--as part of a longer monologue about God's place in the world. This is echoed in one of the Psalms, and Jesus also references this in Luke's gospel.
** In the book of Kings, ravens brought food for Elijah during his time in the Kerith Ravine.
* Ravens are associated with some saints, such as Saint Benedict of Nursia and Saint Vincent of Saragossa.
* In the Qur'an's Sura Al-Ma'ida, a raven teaches Cain how to bury his brother.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sports]]
* The Baltimore Ravens of the NFL. As stated in the film ''FindingForrester'', they're the only team with literary roots: Edgar Allan Poe lived in Baltimore much of his life. Unsurprisingly, instead of just one mascot, they have a trio--named Edgar, Allan, and Poe.
* The Adelaide Crows in AustralianRulesFootball--ironic, considering that Adelaide is the capital of South Australia, whose inhabitants are nicknamed "croweaters".
** The nickname was originally a slur on South Australians, accusing them of eating carrion birds, being Australian [[AppropriatedAppellation they took it on]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The RPG ''{{Exalted}}'' has a CallARabbitASmeerp variation of the raven called a "raiton" that almost always means trouble if you hear their cries; they live in [[{{Mordor}} death-tainted areas]] called Shadowlands and are generally the picture of ominousness.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' two SpaceMarine Chapters named themselves after ravens: the Raven Guard, noted for their use of tactics rather than straight brute force, and the BloodRavens, who value and seek out knowledge.
** The NightLords legion has somewhat of an association with corvids; the original second in command of the legion was called "Prince of Crows".
** One of the sorcerer-cults of the pre-heresy Thousand Sons legion was the Corvidae - specialising in the magicks of divination and fate. The Arch-Sorcerer Ahriman was once a member.
* In the OldWorldOfDarkness there was a [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse shapechanger]] race called Corax who were raven based and the communcations system of Gaia.
** Who, incidentally, did NOT take well to being confused with crows...
* A raven is the symbol of Morr, the god of death and dreams in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''.
** Tzeentch, the Chaos God of knowledge, magic, and intricate scheming, is sometimes referred to as the Raven God. In ''WarhammerOnline'' the Tzeentch-aligned Chaos warcamps usually have a dozen or so ravens either flying around or perched on gibbets, and caster wargear often incorporates a bird skull motif to creepy effect.
** The raven is also a symbol of the elven goddess of fate, Morai-Heg, and a popular heraldic symbol among the elves of Nagarythe - both of High and Dark Elf persuasions. During the wars of the Sundering the mysterious order of the Raven Heralds was ubiquitous in providing information to both sides.
* ''DungeonsAndDragons''.
** The Raven Queen, the [[DistaffCounterpart Distaff]] CaptainErsatz of Morr.
** In ''ForgottenRealms'' Raven's Bluff is named after unusual local birds (big ravens that leave a curse if killed). See also Elaine Cunningham under [[AC:{{Literature}}]] above.
** {{Ravenloft}} has a wereraven lycanthrope.
** Ravens are commonly found as wizards' and sorcerers' {{Familiar}}s. Raven familiars always have the ability to speak.
* PointsOfLight, the intentionally vague default setting of the 4th edition, has The Raven Queen as the goddess of death, who is, as her name implies, heavily associated with various corvids. Interestingly, she is not evil, but TrueNeutral. Death comes equally to everyone, after all.
* TableTopGames/{{Pathfinder}} has tengu as somewhere between kenku-{{expy}}s and their original inspiration. Complete with [[MythologyGag a feat that allows them to appear as humans]] with [[GagNose unusually big noses]], even.
** There's also a spell called "Blood Crow Strike," which creates energy blasts in the shape of fiery crows. Perhaps predictably, it has the evil descriptor.
** There are at least two sorts of psychopomp (the servants of Pharasma, ''another'' TrueNeutral [[DarkIsNotEvil death goddess]]) that look, or can look, corvid: The huge, powerful yamarajes appear part raven and part dragon, and the tiny nosoi often resemble crows.
* ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' has [[UpliftedAnimal uplifted]] ravens and crows, though they share the same "neo-avian" stats as the more common parrots.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theme Parks]]
* A raven shows up multiple times in ''TheHauntedMansion''. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Originally]], it was going to be the ride's narrator, a role that eventually went to [[TheVoice The Ghost Host]].
* In Dollywood, a ride called the Mystery Mine features ravens throughout the ride, appearing most prominently at the ride's steepest hill and drop.
* Indiana Beach's mascot is I. B. Crow.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Vulcan Raven from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''.
** And his successor, Raging Raven, who actually looks vaguely like a raven.
** Literal ravens and crows also appear in both games (all on Shadow Moses Island). It is also implied in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' that Vulcan Raven's presence on Shadow Moses Island also resulted in the raven/crow population increasing on the base.
* Murkrow and its evolution Honchcrow in ''{{Pokemon}}''. Their behavior in the anime can best be summed up in two words: Flying {{Jerkass}}. Mostly because one of them is trained by Ash's [[TheRival rival Paul]].
* Raphael Raven in ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland''.
** The same character makes an appearance in ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', and he apparently had a [[HeelFaceTurn change of heart]]: now Raphael lives peacefully with the Yoshis on Lavalava Island.
** The ravens in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' are of varying intelligence, but pretend to be dumb animals when someone else is around.
* The PhantomThief Yatagarasu in ''[[VisualNovel/AceAttorney Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' takes its name from the three-footed raven mentioned above. Kay even works it into her motto, saying the Yatagarasu is there in darkest night "when no other bird dare fly".
* Aya Shameimaru in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' is a Crow Tengu {{Paparazzi}} who publishes a rumor mill tabloid; if not an outright trickster, she's at least clever and annoying. And her rival, fellow Crow Tengu journalist Hatate Himekaidou. On the other hand, there's also Utsuho Reiuji, a [[ILoveNuclearPower nuclear-powered]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-legged_bird hell raven]] who's a bit more... [[TheDitz straightforward]]. Fan interpretation is split on whether Utsuho is just an idiot, or if [[GeniusDitz all of her brainpower is focused on nuclear physics]].
* One of the [[{{Animorphism}} bird laguz]] tribes in ''FireEmblem'' is the raven tribe. They fit most of the [[TricksterArchetype archetypes]]--often ending up being fought as enemies early in the game, but ultimately having had a [[GoodAllAlong perfectly good reason]] for their actions--and their leader's {{Leitmotif}} is called "Wheeling Corby".
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''. Ravenholm. In addition to being nightmarish, it's also full of atmosphere-enhancing crows.
* Crows are almost as bad as the GoddamnedBats in ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series.
* ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' has Raven, a HighlyVisibleNinja with real JerkAss tendencies. For bonus points, [[PrivateDetective Oboro and the rest of his Detective Agency]] prefer calling him by the nickname ''Crow''. Despite his extreme distaste for the nickname, he has a unique rune called the Crow Rune, which allows him to become invisible to his enemies ... but [[WeaksauceWeakness only if he's indoors]].
* Soulblighter in Bungie's ''VideoGame/{{Myth}}'' series of games can turn into a murder of crows.
* One of Nero Chaos' most used familiars in {{Tsukihime}} is his blue crow. There's also a Dead Apostle Ancestor that is half bird and tied to ravens. The other DAA think he's weird and don't like him.
* The bird-like Morrigi from ''SwordOfTheStars'' are nicknamed crows by the other species. The expansion pack that introduced them is called ''A Murder Of Crows''.
* Ominous crows are common sights in ''TheLostCrown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure'', and the evil ghost brothers' surname means "crow" in an old regional dialect. A painting of crows becomes a crucial clue.
* One recent VideoGame/NancyDrew game uses a flock of crows as an obstacle. Getting past them requires giving each crow an appropriately-colored trinket to distract it.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' features Corvus [[spoiler: Umbranox, the Grey Fox, leader of the Thieves Guild, and former Count of Anvil. Fellow gets around]]. He's clever and dark-haired, but has little to do with RavensAndCrows otherwise.
** That and the fact that his name is Latin for raven, or crow.
** ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' in general features Nocturnal, the Daedric prince of night, darkness and thieves, who is always seen with a raven on each arm, and likes to appear in a flock of them. Corvus' [[spoiler: Grey Fox]] mask is in fact an artifact of hers.
* Crows are the original GoddamnBats of the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series and liable to [[GoshDangItToHeck screw your crap up]] if you get distracted when flocked by them - "It looks like he was killed by a crow or something!" much? In ''4'', however, they're downgraded to harmless [[MoneySpider Money Spiders]].
* A recurring enemy in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'' was Crowmaster, who was a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Ninja Sand Mummy made of ravens]] what would disperse into its component corvids to move around an area quickly and add platforming into the battle.
* In RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon, Raidou receives orders from the Yatagarasu - often depicted as crows, but only in a boss( Amatsu Mikaboshi)'s battle quote is it made explicit ("So the Foxes still serve the crows!"). They are mainly associated with divine will, linking them to the Law Alignment.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', [[EnigmaticMinion Mastema]] is referred to as the Raven.
* [[AVampyreStory Edgar the Raven]], who's more bachelor than doomsayer. The guy really needs to do his laundry, although he wouldn't mind knowing how his favorite sports teams are doing.
* Every single enemy in BillyHatcherAndTheGiantEgg is made up of one or more crows. The BigBad is also a raven.
* Haer'Dalis in ''BaldursGate II'' tends to call the protagonist "my raven" for some reason. Possibly [[spoiler: due to his/her bloodline as the offspring of the Lord of Murder, Bhaal, which Haer'Dalis--being a doomguard--instinctively senses if not having been told.]]
** Haer'Dalis refers to several people with bird-nicknames (he, himself, is "Sparrow").
* In ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}} 2: Lord of Destruction'', the Druid can summon a murder of ravens to "peck his enemy's eyes out".
* ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', in its third installment, gives us the boss Jack Corvus, the fused form of [[TheWoobie young]] [[{{Tykebomb}} Jack]] and an extraterrestrial [[OmnicidalManiac planet-destroying criminal]], [[EnergyBeings Corvus]], who takes the form of a crow and works under [[CardCarryingVillain Mr. King]]. After a good portion of the game's progress, Jack is successfully [[DefusingTheTykebomb defused]], whilst Corvus, who only ever joined up with Jack [[ForTheEvulz cause he thought it would be fun]], ends up destroyed by [[AntiHero Rogue]], who was out to kill the remnants of Dealer. Jack was safe as he'd [[HeelFaceTurn defected]] moments before.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManX 7'' has Wind Crowrang, the spiritual successor to Storm Eagle. He's a fast and agile foe, and one of the harder Mavericks to fight. He's mostly black and gray with yellow trim and highlights (though his beak is black), and his dialogue and fight quotes are riddled with caws.
** The original series had Tengu Man (''VideoGame/MegaMan8'', ''& Bass'').
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has the [[MurderInc Antivan Crows]], an organization of assassins, and of which [[LovableRogue Zevran]] is a member. Interestingly, most times the player comes to an area teeming with some literal crows, the Antivan variety are not far behind.
* Crows can be seen in several places in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''; pecking at corpses in the intro, flying around infected water towers, and [[spoiler: being used by Alex Mercer as building material to [[FromASingleCell regenerate]] after he failed to OutrunTheFireball]].
* In [[SoulSeries Soul Calibur]], ravens are [[DarkActionGirl Ti]][[AxCrazy ra's]] theme.
* Fiddlesticks and Swain from ''LeagueOfLegends.'' Swain turns into a giant crow beast and has two more Poe-based attacks, and Fiddlesticks, well, three words: [[OhCrap Caw Caw Caw]].
** Fiddlesticks has a crow theme going for him, being a scarecrow and all. His Dark Wind ability takes the form of a crow, and his Crowstorm ultimate can ruin an entire team's day when he pops out of the brush with it.
* ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' gives us the [[StealthPun Murder]] Vigor which summons a flock of crows, much like the [[BeeBeeGun Insect Swarm plasmid]] in previous games. There's also Songbird, who is both nightmarish and distinctly crow-like. Crows are also revered by the Fraternal Order of the Raven, a [[TheKlan KKK-like group]] who revere John Wilkes Booth as their patron saint.
* In fitting with the dreary pseudo-Victorian atmosphere, Gilneas City in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has crows hanging around all over the place. They don't really do anything, though; they're just there for the ambiance.
** The Last Guardian of Tirisfal, Medivh, used ravens as his familiars. He was also able [[{{Animorphism}} to take on raven form at will]].
** Druids of the Talon have the raven as their totem animal, and can change into ravens (the Druid Flight Form for the Tauren, Night Elves and Worgen is also a raven). The hippogryph has the head, front legs, wings and tail of a raven and the neck, body, rear legs, and antlers of a stag.
* In keeping with the series' theme of using birds to denote important locations, ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'' has crows and ravens flying around towers which are under the Borgia's control.
* ''DemonsSouls'' features a giant crow named Sparkly, with whom the player character can trade "sparkly, twinkly" items.
** ''DarkSouls'', the SpiritualSuccessor to ''DemonsSouls'' features a giant crow who is able to transport the player character between the Undead Asylum and Firelink Shrine.
* The ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' [[TheVerse 'verse]] has [[PrivateMilitaryContractor Ravens, managed by the Raven's Nest.]] And like a flock of Ravens, they're hired by any MegaCorp that can afford them to cause collateral damage [[WesternTerrorists (even terrorists can hire you to test out their new gear)]]. And guess what? Your [[VillainProtagonist character]] [[CrapsackWorld WORKS for these guys!]]
* ''HeavenlySword'' has a giant raven with a large crown on its head accompany the BigBad King Bohan at the beginning of the game, and it shows up often during Nariko's journey. It cannot be interacted with, and appears only briefly each time, but certainly makes an impression. [[spoiler:It is revealed to the the BiggerBad Raven King who the titular sword was destined to defeat at the end of the game when Bohan begs it to grant more power. It complies for a while, but [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness when Bohan is defeated again, it pecks out his eyes and flies away, leaving him blind and crippled]].]]
* Jun Kazama of ''{{Tekken}}'' has adopted this as her AnimalMotif, fitting as she is portrayed as being about death.
** Not to mention, well, Raven, the mysterious ninja in black sunglasses.
* In ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Gears of Destiny'', Lord Dearche [[OtherMeAnnoysMe often compares the]] trickster-like, [[WingedHumanoid black-winged]] Hayate to a crow. To be more specific, she never calls her by her name and only refers to her as [[TheNicknamer that "Little Crow" or that "Stupid Crow"]].
* In FireEmblemAwakening, Henry the SociopathicHero is often seen surrounded by crows. When he appears, there are so many crows around him that the area is obscured, and Chrom can't help asking him where do they come from.
* Dr. Tan and his son Oblio, from the video game ''Dance Central'', love crows and live among them... and even dress like them.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' offered a limited-time raven companion during the Halloween 2013 event, which can be equipped at Halloween or during a full moon. Its default name? "Quoth."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', as they dig up [[CoolGate the door]], crows slowly accumulate, until it is opened, and [[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/04-49.html they rush in.]]
* Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick: Vaarsuvius's familiar, Blackwing. Though there was originally a RunningGag that he'd only appear when V remembered him (and he didn't even have a ''name'' until Haley named him), after a certain series of events, Blackwing is present all the time, mostly serving as TheConscience to V.
* Webcomic/ElGoonishShive: The aptly named Professor Raven. One of his spells involves summoning hundreds of exploding crows with which to [[MacrossMissileMassacre spam his opponent]]. It's called [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2009-07-04 "Murder Shroud."]]
** And his mother, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Pandora Chaos Raven]].
* In the outside-of-time storyline in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', the sea witch Noga has a flock of pet crow-type birds that are pretty mindless and help her with her magic.
* ''WebComic/EightBitTheater'': Thief's patron ([[TricksterArchetype trickster]]) deity takes the form of a crow.
* ''SquidRow'': In [[http://squidrowcomics.com/?p=1702 this]] comic, the characters see a wild raven and discuss Creator/CharlesDickens and EdgarAllanPoe.
* ''WebComic/{{Memoria}}'': Lampshaded and then played straight in [[http://memoria.valice.net/?p=228 this]] comic. A raven is seen in the park, adding to the creepy atmosphere. The main characters comment on its being there, and aren't especially frightened by it at first. Then, of course, things get worse, and they are attacked by an [[ZergRush entire flock]] of ravens.
* ''BirdBoy'': [[http://bird-boy.com/volume-1-page-1 Rook men]] helped a monster to hide the sun in an attempt [[TheNightThatNeverEnds to prevent day from coming]].
* ''{{Tamuran}}'': In [[http://www.tamurancomic.com/?p=182 this]] comic a [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]] raven named Talather acts as a guide to Nashua.
* ''PennyArcade'' gives us [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/3/21/ the Deepcrow]].
* {{Archipelago}}: The BigBad of this comic is The Great Raven, an ancient spirit, fearfully clever, terribly powerful, [[SealedEvilInACan trapped beneath the Earth with a magic seal.]]
** Also present is Raven, who used to be a spiritual handservant for The Great Raven. He's also clever, but he went through a series of events that shook his world [[HeelFaceTurn and made him switch loyalties.]]
* In ''{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3650 on a tree after Death went after its leaves]] -- as Crimney switches from Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Sonnet 18'' to Poe's ''The Raven''.
** [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2737 God's artistic happening opens with cawing birds--whether crows or ravens is not clear.]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Dave Strider's apartment block is surrounded by quite a large crow population; one crow dares to invade his room and gets run through with one of Dave's katanas in an inventory mishap, but not before making off with his copies of Sburb. It's later prototyped into Dave's [[SpiritAdvisor sprite]], giving enemies in Sburb wings and a sword through the chest.
* ''Crow Scare'' features [[http://crowscare.keenspot.com/d/20081113.html an enormous, homicidal crow]] as the titular antagonist.
* In ''Webcomic/OffWhite'' Ravens are the minions of the dark spirit wolf, though, whether they or the wolf are evil or not has not been revealed yet. And in keeping with the Norse theme naming they're named Hugin and Munin.
* In ''Webcomic/CityFace'' (particularly in [[http://gunnerkrigg.wikia.com/wiki/City_Face_comments the comments below the pages]]) all the other birds seem afraid of the crows. They tend to [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=845 speak with authority]] (and in all-caps).
* In ''Webcomic/{{Solstoria}}'', [[http://solstoria.net/?webcomic1=page-020 they find a guardian crow--quite big.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Administrivia/ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability, right? Well then! The [[http://shifti.org/wiki/Xanadu_(setting) Xanadu]] storyverse, where a large convention [[GoneHorriblyWrong Goes Horribly Wrong]] ([[GoneHorriblyRight or right]]) when [[BecomingTheCostume costumes become real]], started after Eric Winters put on a Raven mask and [[http://shifti.org/wiki/Xanadu_(story) turned into a bird]] who is possibly a god.
* [[http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/depraven.htm The Depraven]] hails from Bogleech's {{Mortasheen}}. It actually doesn't have THAT much distortion in terms of ''MOST'' of its anatomy compared to the other {{Eldritch Abomination}}s you might meet there, and you may even mistake it for a real crow. That is, of course, until you look between its legs and find out, a second too late, that it's got a [[BiggusDickus GREAT BIG PAIR OF DICKS]] [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong that]] [[ChestBurster it]] isn't afraid to use.
* The ''Literature/HarryPotter'' {{Forum Roleplay|s}} AbsitOmen has a raven as its logo juxtaposed next to the site's motto "''Let there be no (omens of) evil here''" although the raven is seen as an omen of evil. This is to symbolise that no matter how much the players try, evil will always be around somewhere...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The plot of one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' had Homer destroy a scarecrow, gaining the loyalty of the crows it was meant to get rid of. They proceed to serve him loyally, and possibly killed a few people, until they nearly kill Maggie by accident. After that Homer tries to get rid of them, but they turn on him and hurt his eyes.
-->'''Marge Simpson''': I don't want a flock of crows in our bedroom!\\
'''Homer Simpson''': It's a murder, honey. A group of crows is called a murder.
** A crow call is often heard in {{establishing shot}}s of the Springfield nuclear plant, perhaps as a sign of the ominous doings that often occur therein.
** The first ''Treehouse of Horror'' did a version of Edgar Allan Poe's ''The Raven''. which is one of the least changed adaptations of the poem.
** With the raven looking like Bart.
* Crows are the {{Screwy Squirrel}}s in ''TheFoxAndTheCrow'' cartoons from Columbia and the ''BuzzyAndKatnip'' cartoons from FamousStudios in the 1940s. Crawford Crow in particular is a ScrewySquirrel trickster who torments his hapless neighbor Fauntleroy Fox.
** Goofy's pal Ellsworth in the Disney comics is formally a mynah bird, not a crow, but is drawn and characterized almost indistinguishably from the Columbia crow, with the sole difference that Ellsworth talks like a sarcastic snob rather than a sarcastic New Yorker.
* Jose and Manuel, the Two Crows from Tacos in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''.
** The mynah bird that occasionally appears in ''[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]]'' looks a lot more like a crow than anything else, [[OffscreenTeleportation and certainly has the trickster act down pat]].
* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' TOS episode "The Fraudulent Volcano". Dr. Zin has a pet raven.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' had a pirate with a raven instead of a PirateParrot.
* Several WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry shorts included a crow who was pretty much TheJuggernaut.
* [[BigBad Mumm-ra]] from ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' often turns into a crow in order to [[HiddenInPlainSight hide in plain sight]] or get around.
* Raven in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' is a more malevolent version of the Native American trickster figure, capable of changing himself into a human or gargoyle-like form.
* Nogbad the Bad's minions in {{The Saga of Noggin the Nog}}.
* Edgar, Allen, and Poe in ''WesternAnimation/RubyGloom''
* Napoleon Jones of ''{{Main/Mumfie}}'' is a heroic French raven who thinks he is unable to fly after his wings are clipped.
* In one episode of ''{{WesternAnimation/SuperFriends}}'', the Scarecrow, as a member of the LegionOfDoom, uses crows to attack Batman and Robin, and in a later season keeps one as a pet.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Do visit [[http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/crowfaq.htm the Big Crow F.A.Q.]], which maintains that fictional corvids are boring compared to their RealLife counterparts. You can also watch [[http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html Joshua Klein]] talk about the intelligence of these birds, and how he got some to use a vending machine.
** Indeed, researchers have recently discovered that the Corvidae, especially crows, ravens and magpies are the most intelligent species of birds, and are actually comparable to chimps in creative thinking, although their cooperation skills don't quite match up (but are still considerable).
* Crows will eat anything edible, which might have started their scary reputation.
* Many people are surprised to find out that ravens and crows can actually talk like parrots. Unlike the high pitched childish speech of most parrots, ravens can tone their voice [[EvilSoundsDeep to terrifyingly low levels]] according to who they're listening. Never has "WHOSAGOODBIRD" sounded so [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA9KTw07Ax0 intimidating]].
** One person who happened to befriend a wild raven took what so many EdgarAllanPoe fans hoped for and taught it to say "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIX_6TBeph0&feature=related Nevermore]]" (along with "[[PacMan wakka wakka wakka wakka]])."
** Wild ravens can readily mimic what they hear without necessarily having to be taught to copy it. This woman caught [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP1OFTglr9o a raven mimicking a songbird]] outside her house.
* [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19042_6-terrifying-ways-crows-are-way-smarter-than-you-think.html Cracked.com has a list on how crows are smarter than you think and why you should be scared of them.]]
* Crows have demonstrated their ability to make tools, in fact. Being among the most intelligent genus of birds, any one of the corvid species may be capable of pulling this off, but the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonian_Crow The New Caledonian Crow]] is the best known and documented. Check out [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtmLVP0HvDg this video]] depicting one fishing some food out of a plastic tube, using nothing but a bent piece of wire and a good dose of intuition.
* On a more heart-warming note, some species of corvids stay with one mate for their entire life. [[MoodWhiplash And on a more]] tear-jerking note, once the mate dies, [[DeathByDespair the other will stay with the corpse until he/she dies of starvation.]]
* Increasing evidence suggests that crows have a rudimentary vocabulary, using different calls to alert their fellows to possible predators or worrying situations. They even have two different ''sets'' of vocabulary: a soft-toned, quiet version for communication within their immediate family, and a harsh, carrying voice used to convey similar sorts of information to non-relatives in the same flock.
** While unproven, the existence of the first, quieter tone of crow-calls strongly implies that they ''keep secrets'' (e.g. where to find food) from unrelated flockmates.
* Also, [[http://wunderscheisse.tumblr.com/post/43888887045/in-recent-years-biologists-have-recognized-that crows are among the few animals that play just for fun]].
[[/folder]]

----
''Nevermore.''
----

** A raven was one of the first birds released from Noah's Ark. Unlike the doves, the raven 'kept going and returning' (rather then searching) until the land dried up enough.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2737 God's artistic happening opens with cawing birds--whether crows or ravens is not clear.]]

** Not to mention the infamous [[FanNickname "Murder of Crows"]] jutsu, which is officially named the "Scattering One Thousand Crows Technique." Its user, Aoba Yamashiro, is said by fans to have scared two members of Akatsuki into running away with this technique, though it's more likely that there were reinforcements arriving and they were going to leave soon anyway. There are also a variety of other crow-related techniques used by various characters, and one of Kankuro's puppets is called "Crow."

* In ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', Vicious seems to have some sort of pet raven than spends a great deal of time perched on his shoulder, complete with ominous flapping and crowing whenever he kills someone.
** Actually this is an [[AvertedTrope aversion,]] as the bird in question is actually a cormorant, not a corvid of any kind. It is still creepy, though.

* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' has Karasu, a fighter in all black that claims he [[StalkerWithACrush likes to kill the things he loves]]. This is about the only time in the series [[RealMenWearPink Kurama]] gets scared shitless.

* In ''Anime/{{Noein}}'' the main character is called Yuu and he becomes a dragon warrior in the future version of himself and the name given to him is Karasu. His appearance is black and menacing so the Crow aspect is strong.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Xt43G_Kus&feature=relmfu Deleted scenes]] from ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' revealed that [[SavageWolf Boss Wolf]], TheDragon and loyal servant of the evil albino peacock, Lord Shen, was originally going to be a crow, but his similarity to the BigBad led to it being scrapped.

* They're also pretty remarkable in Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Film/TheBirds''. Crows in particular feature in a memorable sequence in which they [[AdultFear slowly gather at a schoolhouse]] while the children sing an IronicNurseryTune, the main character not noticing what's going on until there are ''hundreds'' of them.

* Crows/ravens are a big symbol of Randall Flagg elsewhere too, especially ''TheStand''. Really obvious in TheFilmOfTheBook, as mentioned below.

* In the episode of DeadliestCatch that has Captain Phil going to the hospital because of a stroke, there was a raven just sitting on the Cornelia Marie.

* ''TheStand'': Flagg is represented by a raven many times in the miniseries, although allusions are made in the novel.

* There's a story that says that the if the Tower of London's famous ravens ever leave it, the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. After two major disasters struck London in as many years, the king decided he didn't want to find out if bad luck really comes in threes, so he had several ravens' wings clipped to make sure they'd never leave. All but one raven died during WorldWarTwo, they restocked the tower after the war with new ravens... The King was told at one point that Ravens were disturbing a scientist's work, and that they must be killed. Of course, that meant bad luck, so the King reached a small compromise - he got rid of all but 7. Since then, there are always meant to be 7 ravens in the tower grounds. They do, however, keep a few extra so they can easily get another if one dies. Which is also where the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time comes from -- the ravens were disrupting the Royal Observatory at the Tower, and rather than take the risk of getting rid of the ravens, Charles II moved the observatory to Greenwich.

** D&D had a race of sneaky tengu-inspired bird-people called kenku. However, they [[SadlyMythtaken weren't based off of crows until 3e]].

* Many people are surprised to find out that ravens and crows can actually talk like parrots.
** Unlike the high pitched childish speech of most parrots, ravens can tone their voice [[EvilSoundsDeep to terrifyingly low levels]] according to who they're listening. Never has "WHOSAGOODBIRD" sounded so [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA9KTw07Ax0 intimidating]].

* {{Pathfinder}} has tengu as somewhere between kenku-{{expy}}s and their original inspiration. Complete with [[MythologyGag a feat that allows them to appear as humans]] with [[GagNose unusually big noses]], even.

* The song "Crows" by The Gothic Archies, which was written for the audiobook of [[ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents The Vile Village.]]

* Creator/NeilGaiman has the goddess Bird in Literature/AnansiBoys portrayed as ravenlike.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Xt43G_Kus&feature=relmfu Deleted scenes]] from ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' revealed that [[BigBadassWolf Boss Wolf]], TheDragon and loyal servant of the evil albino peacock, Lord Shen, was originally going to be a crow, but his similarity to the BigBad led to it being scrapped.

** As noted above, Poe shoutouts are common. This is subverted when Matthew gets on top of a bust to shout "'''Nevermore!'''", only to say that he took it from "Peter Lorre in that Roger Corman movie", not knowing that the movie is an adaptation of Poe's ''Literature/TheRaven''.

* The eponymous bird in RogerCorman's ''The Raven'' is a [[BalefulPolymorph involuntarily shape-shifted]] wizard.

Corvids suffer from a strange sort of form of the ConservationOfNinjitsu. A single crow will probably be intelligent (and, if one of the bad guys, will also take an unnerving interest in the heroes). On the other hand, a whole murder of crows/congress of ravens will just be [[ZergRush mindless animals possibly under the control of something or someone external]]. They are also sometimes associated with ScaryScarecrows. Of course, the significance of various numbers of corvids (often magpies; see description of ''One for Sorrow, Two for Joy'' trope below) is the subject of some OlderThanFeudalism superstitions. Sometimes corvids are shown more-or-less positively (although ravens are usually (but not always) more likely to be heroic characters than crows), and in this case their traditional characteristics are [[DarkIsNotEvil portrayed in a better light]]. Heroic ravens are often wise or intelligent characters, while crows tend to be friendly tricksters or PluckyComicRelief.

Crows and ravens tend to fall under the TricksterArchetype. WhatMeasureIsANonCute is a matter of some disagreement. For more creepy birds, see FeatheredFiend, but also see the note on scavengers in CarnivoreConfusion. For magpies, closely related both in RealLife and in tropes, see ThievingMagpie, which is about magpies' compulsion to steal, particularly shiny objects (any magpie-related examples related to thievery should go ''there'' and not ''here'') and also OneForSorrowTwoForJoy (any magpie-related examples related to the "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy" nursery rhyme or to omens should go ''there'' and not ''here''). For black feathers used as symbolism, see FeatherMotif.

* The evil queen Ravenna in ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'' uses a corvid motif, and is able to transform into a flock of ravens at will, while her minions change into a murder of crows when killed. However, some [[OneForSorrowTwoForJoy magpies]] serve as Snow White's friends and allies.

* Crows are almost as bad as the GoddamnedBats in ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}''.
* ''SuikodenV'' has Raven, a HighlyVisibleNinja with real JerkAss tendencies. For bonus points, [[PrivateDetective Oboro and the rest of his Detective Agency]] prefer calling him by the nickname ''Crow''. Despite his extreme distaste for the nickname, he has a unique rune called the Crow Rune, which allows him to become invisible to his enemies ... but [[WeaksauceWeakness only if he's indoors]].

* The song "[[GraveRobbing Grave Robber At Large]]" by Music/CreatureFeature begins with the sound of crows cawing.