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A Black Bird Perched On A Branch — Common Raven. (Andrew Lydeard / Alabama Audubon)

Alabama Audubon Executive Director Scot Duncan has two post-it notes on his office wall, where he reminds himself daily of the importance of his work on behalf of Alabama’s birds.

One note is a list of birds that are extinct in Alabama. The other has the name of a bird that no longer lives in Alabama and that he would like to bring back: the Raven.

In this first of a three-part series, we will take an in-depth look at animals that no longer live in Alabama and explore how and why some are returning.

Join us.

Ravens: Smartest creatures

A Black Bird Standing On A Ledge — Common Raven. (Andrew Lydeard / Alabama Audubon)

A few years ago, Duncan and his wife Ginger took a hike in northwest Georgia. On a spring day, they were surprised to hear the sound of what they believed was a Raven. As they got closer, the bird’s croaking grew louder and louder.

His post-it note came to life.

“They are the most intelligent animals in North America, without a doubt — uber-intelligent. There’s nothing like being in the mountains anywhere in the world and hearing the croaking of a raven.”

Dr. Scot Duncan

Many of us might think we’ve often seen or heard ravens in Alabama, but it is very likely you are spotting a crow.

How do you know a raven from a crow?

Ravens have a larger bill than crows and they are the size of a Red-tailed Hawk. Crows are about the size of pigeons. The call of the Raven is also a big difference. They make a deep, reverberating croaking or “gronk-gronk sound,” while” Crows make a distinctive”caw-caw” call.

Ravens disappeared from Alabama 110 years ago

A Black Bird Flying In A Tree — Common Raven. (Andrew Lydeard / Alabama Audubon)

According to Tom Imhof’s definitive book Birds of Alabama, the last reported sighting of ravens in Alabama was in April 1915 — 110 years ago.

Before they were extirpated, Ravens lived across North Alabama. This term, extirpated, is the scientific term for a critter that has disappeared from a landscape. They were found in Winston, Cullman, Walker, Jackson, and DeKalb counties.

Imhof, who wrote the first edition of his book in 1962, said we lost Ravens in Alabama as a result of a widespread campaign of poisoning, hunting and trapping them out of existence throughout the 1800s.

Ravens are found in Europe, Asia, North Africa, Greenland, Iceland and the western and northern regions of North America.

They still survive in the high Appalachians, as far south as northern Georgia. But elsewhere in the East, they were eliminated just like in Alabama.

Marianne Gauldin, biologist and Outreach Coordinator for the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division told The Bama Buzz that in the past, unregulated hunting of Ravens, plus the fact they are very sensitive to human pressure, are major reasons the bird has not returned.

“If their habitat supports it, they would be welcomed to gradually restock themselves in any area of Alabama.”

Marianne Gauldin, Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division

Black Bears returned to Alabama, so why not Ravens?

A Black Bear Lying On The Ground — Adult North Alabama black bear. Photo via Hannah Leeper

Since Ravens currently reside close to Alabama in nearby Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina can they make a comeback?

It has recently happened with another iconic animal — Black Bears.

When the state joined the Union in 1819, Black Bears could be found in every corner of the Yellowhammer state.

In a 2020 Bham Now story about Black Bears, Hannah Leeper, a bear researcher at Auburn University, said the bears’ disappearance from most of Alabama occurred a century ago due to over harvesting and habitat manipulation.

About three decades ago, Alabama’s official state mammal, had only one stronghold left in Mobile and Washington counties.

That’s changed.

In recent years, thanks to bear conservation efforts in the states surrounding the Northeast corner of Alabama, the Black Bear in Alabama has been slowly taking up residence in forests and valleys near Little River Canyon.

Sightings of “bachelor” Black Bears roaming the central part of the state have increased.

Ravens are coming

A Black Crow With A Beak — Common Raven (USFWS Digital Library)

According to Audubon’s Duncan, the Common Raven, which has been expanding its range, can return to North Alabama much like the bears.

“The Ravens are coming. They are damn clever, extremely adaptable, and can thrive in the most extreme conditions on the continent, from scorching hot deserts to the frigid arctic tundra.”

Because they are expanding their range, and they are just over the border in north Georgia, I am hopeful they will find their way back to Alabama and love it here.”

Dr. Scot Duncan

Why this all matters

National Park — Little River Canyon National Preserve in December 2023 (Pat Byington/The Bama Buzz)

Imagine Ravens coming back to Alabama after 110 years. Why does it matter?

Duncan summed it up best.

“Part of our job in this modern era of enlightened conservation is to help species survive in a rapidly changing world. That often means reestablishing populations of native species in places where we eliminated them.

For the Raven, this would mean restoring what was the most intelligent land animal in the Southeast before the arrival of humans.”

In our next story, we will learn how the state of Tennessee brought Elk back to the Volunteer State and how Alabama can learn from their success.

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