Ravens and Crows in Belgium: Clever Birds from the Legends

A black bird on a bare branch, a hoarse call in the mist: around Halloween, ravens and crows are the undisputed stars of every spooky story. But behind that dark image are some of the cleverest animals you can come across in Belgium. Pull on your Dark Raven Hoodie, with a raven keeping an eye on everything in the dark, and learn to recognise our country's black birds.

Which members of the crow family live in Belgium?

The crow family is bigger than you might think. In Flanders, five species are common: the jay, the magpie, the jackdaw, the rook and the carrion crow. On top of that there is the raven, which is slowly returning, and the hooded crow, a rare winter visitor with a grey body.

The jay and the magpie are easy to recognise by their colours. It gets harder with the four "black" species.

Raven, crow, rook or jackdaw: how to tell them apart

Tip: do you see a black bird high in the sky with a tail that ends in a point, like a wedge? Then it is probably a raven. A crow has a rounded tail. Ravens are also noisier: their call is a deep, rolling "kronk-kronk".

Young rooks don't have the bare base to the bill yet and then look a lot like a carrion crow. In that case, look at the feathers on the legs.

How clever are crows?

The crow family is known as the cleverest group of birds in the world, and that is no exaggeration.

• They remember faces. In 2008, researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle wore a mask while catching and ringing crows. Later, the crows scolded anyone wearing that mask, even when it was disguised. People in a different mask were left alone. Five years later the crows were still doing it, up to more than a kilometre from the spot.
• They use tools. Some crow species use sticks to poke food out of cracks.
• They think ahead. Ravens hide food and take into account whether another raven is watching.

In short: if you make a crow angry, you gain an enemy that doesn't forget easily. Another clever bird of the night is the owl: on the Night Watch Sweatshirt it keeps an eye on everything the night hides. You can read more about those birds in our article on owls in Belgium.

The raven is back

For centuries the raven was persecuted. According to VRT, the last breeding records in Flanders date from 1842, in Wilrijk and Bazel. After that, the bird disappeared for almost 150 years.

In the 1970s, ravens were released in the Ardennes and on the Veluwe in the Netherlands. The first pair bred in Wallonia in 1980, and since then the raven has conquered the Ardennes, the Gaume and part of the Famenne. At the start of this century there were already some 70 to 90 breeding pairs, and since 2010 ravens have also been breeding west of the Meuse.

The raven is back in Flanders too. In 2019, a pair bred successfully in the Ravels-Arendonk area, and in the Noorderkempen, including around Wortel-Kolonie and the Merkske, more and more ravens are being seen. According to forest ranger Bart Hoeymans, this is also linked to the return of the wolf: ravens like to feed on what wolves leave behind. You can read more about that predator in our article on wolves in Belgium. A wolf howling at the moon, with the dark forests below? That is on the Silver Howl Hoodie.

Seen a raven? Report your sighting on waarnemingen.be, so the return can be properly monitored.

More crows than before

It's not just the raven that is doing well. According to the breeding bird counts of INBO (the Research Institute for Nature and Forest), the number of jackdaws in Flanders has more than tripled since 2007. The carrion crow and the rook have also increased sharply. Members of the crow family adapt easily and find plenty of food and nesting sites in villages and towns.

Crows in autumn and winter

In autumn and winter you see crows more often in groups. Rooks and jackdaws look for food together in fields and meadows, and towards evening they fly to shared roosting trees. A roost like that can hold hundreds of birds, which arrive calling loudly. Just like with starling murmurations, dusk is the best time to see them.

A flock of dark birds against an evening sky: the Lone Dusk Sweatshirt fits right in, with a lone wolf against a twilight sky.

Ravens in myths and legends

Why are ravens and crows so closely linked to death and mystery? They are black, clever and they eat dead animals. In many cultures that made them messengers between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

The best-known story comes from Norse mythology. The chief god Odin had two ravens: Huginn ("thought") and Muninn ("memory"). Every morning they flew across the world, and in the evening they sat on Odin's shoulders and told him everything they had seen.

Do you love spooky stories? Then also read our article on legends and spooky places in Belgium. Or put on the Dark Raven Shirt, with a watchful raven in jet-black feathers.

Can you control crows?

Members of the crow family have a bad name with some farmers, because they eat seed and young plants. Yet they are protected. In Flanders they fall under the European Birds Directive and the Flemish Species Decree. Farmers can get an exemption from the Agency for Nature and Forests (Agentschap Natuur en Bos), but only if other deterrents don't work. According to VRT, 42,459 magpies were killed in Flanders in 2023, something Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen strongly protests against.

In Wallonia, too, the carrion crow, the magpie, the rook and the jackdaw are protected, and you may only kill them with a derogation. Destroying a nest with eggs or young is forbidden.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a raven and a crow?

The raven is much bigger, roughly the size of a buzzard. It has a heavier bill and a wedge-shaped tail in flight. A carrion crow is smaller and has a rounded tail.

Are there ravens in Belgium?

Yes. They have been breeding in the Ardennes again since 1980, and in Flanders a pair bred again in 2019, in the Ravels-Arendonk area. In the Noorderkempen they are seen more and more often.

Are you allowed to shoot crows?

No. Members of the crow family are protected. Farmers can only intervene with an exemption from the Agency for Nature and Forests, if other measures don't work.

For anyone who loves the wild, dark side of nature

A raven calling above the forest, a flock of jackdaws in the evening twilight: the black birds make every autumn walk a little more mysterious. Tips for learning to recognise birds yourself are in our article on birdwatching in Belgium. Discover all our animal designs in the Wildlife collection. Shipping is free across the EU from €45 (otherwise €4.99).