Raven

"Orcale of the Stars...Mario comes to this island"

- Raven

Ravens are black, flightless birds that seem to be both allies and enemies of Mario.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Ravens first appeared in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where they could be found walking around large, floating rocks. If they ran into Yoshi, they would send Baby Mario flying off his back, an act even more dangerous since these Ravens were usually found on rocks high in the air. Yoshi can defeat them by stomping their heads or by throwing eggs, but could not eat them. A large Raven named Raphael the Raven seems to be the leader of all the birds.

Yoshi's Story
Ravens make a return appearance in Yoshi's Story. In the game, they acted the same way as they did in their past appearance, but were immune to all of Yoshi's attacks.

Yoshi's Universal Gravitation
Once more, Ravens acted as Yoshi's enemies in Yoshi's Universal Gravitation.

Paper Mario
Up until Paper Mario, all Ravens seemed to be minions of Baby Bowser and Kamek (influenced by Raphael the Raven's appearance in Tetris Attack), but in Paper Mario, a friendly group of Ravens can be encountered on Lavalava Island. These Ravens (including, oddly, Raphael the Raven himself) help Mario and his party reach Mt. Lavalava. This games also proves that Ravens have their own language (which mostly consists of the word "caw"), although some are bilingual and can speak in human tongue. The Ravens in this game also have the ability to fly by flapping their feet. Goombario states in a few of his Tattles on the generic ravens that he finds them cute, though Kooper apparently disagrees.

Super Princess Peach
Ravens acted as enemies serving King Bowser Koopa, who was fighting against Princess Peach this time. Super Princess Peach exclusively gave them Mini-Ravens' qualities and introduced a sub-species known as Sad Ravens.

Sub-Species

 * Mini-Ravens - Small, possibly juvenile Ravens who move quickly.
 * Sad Ravens - Ravens who create earthquakes while crying hysterically.

Trivia

 * Despite the fact that they are called Ravens, they have almost nothing in common with the aforementioned birds similar to how Buzzy Beetles are nothing like real beetles. Ravens are corvids with sharp, black beaks and wide wings. The Ravens of the Mario series are slow-moving, wingless, with elliptical beaks which resemble more a nose than a beak. The only similarities are the coloring of the birds, the sound they make and, only in Paper Mario, their ability to fly.