It has similar proportions to the common raven but the bill is not so large or deep and the wings tend to be a little more pointed in profile.

The head and throat are a distinct brownish-black giving the bird its English name, while the rest of the plumage is black glossed with purple, blue or purplish-blue.

The dwarf raven was formerly considered a subspecies (Corvus ruficollis edithae) but this bird now appears to be closer to the pied crow (C. albus) than this species.

This species has a wide range across virtually the whole of North Africa, down as far as Kenya, the Arabian Peninsula and up into the Greater Middle East and southern Iran.

Food consists of a wide range of items, including carrion, snakes, locusts and other grasshoppers, stranded fish (in coastal areas), grain stolen from bags, dates and other fruits.