Crows (カラス, karasu) refers to any animal within the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. This genus includes true crows, ravens, rooks, and jackdaws. Of the three birds within this genus not called a crow, the raven resembles and is misidentified as a crow. Crows are also considered one of the smartest animals on earth due to their learning capabilities and ability to make tools.
Ravens are a select few species of birds from the genus Corvus. The term raven does not exist in Japanese and are called crows (カラス, karasu) and the differences between the names are all scientific. Although a raven is a type of crow, not all crows can be called ravens. Ravens are usually much larger than crows with different physical features, and are much more solitary than the crow which flock in masses. They are known to live much longer than crows as well.
In Touhou, Crows can often be spotted around Youkai Mountain, near Tengu territory. Ravens are found mostly in Former Hell. The most noticeable difference between the crows and ravens of Youkai Mountain during Mountain of Faith is that the ravens have red eyes. The crows used on the Touhou fighting games by Aya also appear to have red eyes.
- Examples: Aya Shameimaru (Youkai Crow), Hatate Himekaidou (Youkai Crow), Utsuho Reiuji (Youkai Raven), Aya's crows, Yukari's crows (Shikigami Crows), Ravens of Former Hell
See also:
- Wikipedia entry for Crow
- Wikipedia entry for Raven
- Karasutengu (Tengu)
- Yatagarasu