How to Identify Fan-tailed Raven Feathers

What Fan-tailed Raven's Feathers Look Like

Fan-tailed Raven is entirely glossy black from head to tail, with body feathers showing a strong blue-purple sheen in good light, similar in gloss quality to other corvids but on a notably more compact bird. The single most useful feather feature is the tail: Fan-tailed Raven has a short, broad, distinctly wedge- or fan-shaped tail relative to its wing length, noticeably shorter and more rounded than the long, deep wedge tail of Common Raven. Individual tail feathers are therefore shorter and broader in proportion to the bird's overall size than in most other ravens and crows. Body contour feathers are dense and glossy black throughout, without any pale bases or barring. Flight feathers are strong and black with a glossy sheen, and the bill-associated bristle feathers at the base of the bill are short, matching the bird's stubby, deep bill.

Step-by-Step: Is This Feather From a Fan-tailed Raven?

• Check overall color: the feather should be solid, glossy black throughout, with a blue-purple sheen and no white, gray, or brown mixed in.
• Assess tail feather proportions: if you have a tail feather, note whether it looks short and broad relative to what you'd expect from the bird's size; Fan-tailed Raven's tail feathers are proportionately shorter than Common Raven's.
• Compare size to Common Raven: Fan-tailed Raven is smaller overall, so its feathers, while still robust corvid feathers, should run somewhat smaller than a Common Raven's of the same feather type.
• Look for compactness: this species has a stockier build, so wing feathers may appear slightly broader and less elongated than the sleeker feathers of a Common Raven built for long-distance soaring.
• Rule out brown tones: any warm brown wash in the feather, rather than pure glossy black, points away from this species.

Similar Species & How to Tell Them Apart

Common Raven, which overlaps in range across parts of North Africa and the Middle East, is the primary confusion species; it is notably larger with a longer, deeper wedge-shaped tail and shaggy throat "hackle" feathers that are more pronounced than the more subtly maned throat of Fan-tailed Raven. Brown-necked Raven, another regional relative, shows a distinct brownish wash on the nape and neck feathers in good light, rather than the uniform glossy black of Fan-tailed Raven, and has a proportionately longer tail as well. Pied Crow, found in parts of overlapping range in Africa, is instantly distinguished by its bold white breast and collar feathers, a pattern Fan-tailed Raven never shows. Among common black corvids, the short, fan-shaped tail combined with compact, all-black glossy feathers is the most useful combination for confirming this species.

Where & When You'll Find Them

Fan-tailed Raven inhabits arid and semi-arid regions, including rocky deserts, cliffs, and open country across northeastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of the Middle East, often nesting on cliff ledges or man-made structures. Feathers are most often found near cliff nest sites, desert wadis, and areas of human habitation where the birds scavenge, such as garbage dumps and livestock areas. Molt typically occurs in the warmer months following breeding, broadly spring into summer depending on local climate, and feathers can be found year-round given the species' resident, non-migratory habits and its tendency to forage close to nesting cliffs.