Frederick Nelson, age 9, of St. John's Newfoundland, Canada, for his question:

HOW LARGE DOES A RAVEN GROW?

A raven is a larga black bird that is in the same familY as the crow. He can grow to be up to 26 inches long and a wingspread that can be as wide as three feet.

A raven's feathers have a slight purple luster and there is often a touch of dull green on the belly. The feathers at the neck are usually dull gray at the base.

You'll find the raven living in all parts of the Northern Hemisphere, from Greenland and Alaska on the north to Guatemala on the south. The raven is sometimes in the Bible as the first bird sent out from Noah's Ark.

Three kinds of ravens are common in North America: the American raven, the northern raven and the white necked raven.