It just seems that the characters in the story have few differences. Yes, both birds are corvids, both are dark, their beaks are similar, they croak, and their diet is not too different. But any ornithologist will say that the raven is “not your crow’s husband.” Before us are two completely different birds. 
9. Short age?
The raven lives an incredibly long time. In the wild, in the presence of a huge number of natural adversaries, he is able to live up to 20-25 years. But if the bird gets a subsidy from a responsible person, then its lifespan will double, or even more. The “oldest” raven in the world lived for 75 years. The crow comes to this world to “stay” for a short time - 8-10 years. People are not keen to take corvids into their care, so the exact peak age in captivity remains unknown. 
Raven and gray crow. Photo collage by the author.
8. Don’t be hasty in appearance!
In the sky, the birds are almost the same. But if you put them next to each other, everything will become clear. The plumage of a crow is gray-black, and the raven has a colorful blue-black color. The tail of the “city dweller” seems to be chopped off, while the tail of the forest sage is cone-shaped. The plumage of the crop is also striking. The raven's is tousled, and looks like a sign of a secret order. 
High flying birds! Photo collage by the author.
7. Intelligence at its best!
Raven evaluates information, analyzes it, draws conclusions and... Applies them in practice. To get food out of a glass of water, he begins to throw other objects into it. Gradually they push provisions to the surface. Raven is happy. He also willingly passes on his life experience to the next generation - a lot of experiments have been carried out. The crow's intelligence is situational: it is capable of inventing a primitive tool, but will not share its experience.
6. Unique original and parody
The crow can imitate a person's voice and intonation. But all she can do is parody human words. And the raven’s pronunciation of human words is as clear as possible. He imitates so well that if not for the accent, one could confuse him with the speech of a biped. The voice of both birds cannot be called euphonious, but the raven’s talent manifests itself many times more clearly. 
Both birds are prone to communication. Photo collage by the author.
5. Favorites in dimensions
If a raven flaps its wings, it can catch objects located at a distance of one and a half meters! And the bird itself is not at all small - up to 70 cm in height. Of course, there is a difference with an eagle, but sometimes it is not very critical. The hooded crow is much more modest in size. The wingspan is limited to 1 m, so they have to flap much more often. And a crow rarely grows more than 40-50 cm. 
Comparison of average dimensions in a photo editor. Photo collage by the author.
4. Raven chick - fugitive and insolent
Within a couple of months after the crow’s “wife” gave birth to offspring, the young reach the size of their parents. And in size, and in weight, and in wingspan. They will not linger in the family nest! They will run away as soon as they consider themselves completely self-sufficient. Hoodie crow chicks remain small-caliber chicks much longer. And even when they are already able to obtain provisions for themselves, they prefer to remain dependent on their parents. 
3. Different values
If a raven gets a “young lady”, then it’s for life. From now on until the end of their days, the couple will do everything together. They build the nest together, fly together, and hunt only in pairs. It seems as if they are tied with an invisible thread. And gray crows lead a wild life. Yes, during the period of “weddings” they unite in pairs, but then they scatter like ships at sea. And this is what they do every time during mating games. 
2. Hunter and consumer
The raven is distinguished by its endurance. He will circle over the forest until he discovers food. If one of the forest inhabitants does not finish the prey, then the raven will come down and help the weak. But in any case, he is more focused on hunting. You rarely see a stately and wise handsome man plundering territories. And the crow is accustomed to available provisions: garbage cans, food waste, agricultural land. 
She explores everything, she tries everything.
1. Dacha or communal apartment?
The raven is careful when choosing a nesting site. He will build one nest on the highest crown of the tree, so that it cannot be seen from any side. But there will also be a kind of “dacha”; the bird builds 2 nests at once. He will use each of them alternately. Almost human: in the summer - to the dacha, in the winter - to the apartment. And the crow lives in the same nest in the center of the city, everyone here is “neighbors”, everything suits her.
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