DIET OF LITTLE RAVENS

All the text books agree that Little Ravens are mostly insectivorous. If you see a Little Raven beside roadkill, it is more likely to be snapping at the flies attracted to the body, rather than eating the carrion itself.

Little Ravens in the suburbs have learnt to scavenge



However, they are opportunistic feeders, and will scavenge anything that is convenient. And they certainly will eat carrion if they are hungry enough.

I live in a Melbourne suburb which has a large population of possums, both brush-tail and ringtail. For some reason, the ringtails are often killed on the electricity wires, although I don't remember ever seeing a brush-tail apparently killed in this manner.

Last week, I saw a dead ringtail under the wires, while a couple of Little Ravens sat on the wires above communicating with each other. They ignored the free food below. I was interested to see if the ravens would eat the possum.

They must be well fed, for the dead possum did not attract them at all. It lay there for some days, until I assume one of my neighbours removed it. This is only an assumption, as I did not witness what happened to the possum. What I can say with conviction is that the Little Ravens ignored the dead body for several days.