How Do Ravens Communicate?

Vocal Communication

[science] Ravens have an exceptionally large vocal repertoire for a non-human animal:

• 30+ documented call types — including alarm calls, food calls, territorial calls, contact calls, begging calls, and play vocalisations
• Individually distinctive voices — ravens recognise each other's calls; playback experiments show differential responses to familiar vs unfamiliar individuals
• Audience effects — ravens modify call rate and type depending on who is present; dominant birds may suppress subordinates' food calls
• Regional dialects — some call variations appear geographically structured, suggesting cultural transmission

Heinrich (2000) documented the recruitment call used to draw other ravens to a carcass — a surprising behaviour, since sharing food appears counter-intuitive. The leading hypothesis is that juveniles recruit others to dilute the risk from resident territorial adults.¹

Referential Gestures

[science] The most striking communication research on ravens concerns gestural communication. Pika & Bugnyar (2011) observed wild ravens at the Cumberland Wildpark, Austria, and documented:

• Pointing-like gestures: Ravens held or pointed with their beak toward an object while monitoring the partner's gaze — checking whether the partner was looking at the target
• Showing: Presenting an object (a stone, moss, twig) to a partner and watching for a response
• Directed at partners only: These gestures were primarily produced between paired ravens (mated or prospective mates), and increased interactions between the pair

The significance: referential gestures that direct a partner's attention to an object (rather than the sender themselves) were previously documented only in humans and great apes. This was the first evidence in a non-primate species.²

Body Language and Posture

[science] Ravens use elaborate body postures to convey social information:

• Dominance displays: Upright posture, fluffed hackles, bill pointed upward; subordinates crouch and flatten plumage
• Submission: Bill pointed down, wings slightly drooped, neck retracted
• Affiliation: Mutual preening (allopreening), bill-to-bill contact, flank-to-flank perching
• Threat: Wing spreading, bill gaping, lateral orientation to opponent
• Play invitation: Play-bow (chest lowered, rear raised) similar to canid play bows

Massen et al. (2015) showed that ravens track social relationships carefully — third-party bystanders pay attention to conflicts they were not involved in, suggesting social knowledge beyond immediate dyads.³

Vocal Mimicry

[science] Ravens are vocal learners — they can acquire new sounds from their environment throughout life (Jarvis et al. 2005). Documented mimicry includes:

• Human speech (captive ravens; multiple documented cases)
• Other bird species in their environment
• Wolves and other mammals (documented in wild ravens near wolf packs)
• Environmental sounds (machinery, water)

Whether mimicry serves a communicative function in the wild (beyond pair-bonding or play) is not yet established. Some researchers suggest it may function in inter-specific communication with wolves.^1,4

Communication vs Language

[science] To be precise about what ravens do and do not do:

• Ravens communicate — they convey information that influences another's behaviour
• Ravens do not use language — their vocalisations lack the combinatorial, recursive grammar that defines human language
• Referential gestures are significant — but Pika & Bugnyar (2011) note they are more limited in scope and flexibility than human pointing
• Vocal mimicry is a production ability — it does not imply understanding of the mimicked content