Taxonomy and Naming
The Australian Raven was first described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827; its specific epithet coronoides "crow-shaped" is derived from the Greek corone/κορονη "crow" and eidos/ειδος "shape" or "form". The two naturalists regarded the Australian Raven as very similar in appearance to the Carrion Crow (C. corone) of Europe.
Although called a raven, its closest affinities lie with the other four species of Australian corvid, which include the Torresian Crow and Little Crow as well as the Forest Raven and Little Raven.
Alternate names sometimes seen include Southern Raven, Southern Crow, and Kelly. It was called wugan by the local Eora and Darug inhabitants of the Sydney basin.
Two subspecies are recognised:
- C. c. coronoides, the nominate subspecies, is found across most of eastern Australia
- C. c. perplexus occurs from the head of the Great Australian Bight in South Australia westwards into Western Australia where its northern limits are Shark Bay and the mulga-eucalypt boundary line
Intermediate birds are found in the Eyre Peninsula, Gawler Ranges and vicinity of Lake Eyre in South Australia.
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