An omnivorous and opportunistic feeder, the forest raven eats a wide variety of plant and animal material, as well as food waste from urban areas and roadkill.

John Latham described the "South-Seas raven" in 1781, with loose throat feathers and found in "the Friendly Isles" in the South Seas, but did not give a binomial name.

[2] Although "the Friendly Isles" refers to Tonga,[3] the specimen resembles what is now known as the forest raven and was collected by ships' surgeon William Anderson on the third voyage of James Cook in January 1777.

[4] German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin gave the species the name Corvus australis in the 13th edition of Systema naturae in 1788.

[13] Subsequent multigene analysis using nuclear DNA by Jønsson and colleagues in 2012 clarified that the forest and little raven are each other's closest relative.

[14] Ian Rowley proposed that the common ancestor of the five species diverged into a tropical crow and temperate raven sometime after entering Australia from the north.

[10] The wings are long and broad, with the largest of its ten primary feathers (usually the seventh but occasionally the eighth) almost reaching the end of the tail when at rest.

[20] In Tasmania, the forest raven could be confused with the black currawong, though the latter species has more slender wings with white markings, a longer tail and a very different call.

Birds between one and two years old closely resemble adults but retain juvenile feathers on wings and tail and have smaller bills.

[22] The only member of the corvid family that has a permanent population in Tasmania,[23] the forest raven is the most widely distributed bird species in the state.

[21] A survey of Mount Wellington found it to be one of the few birds that remained in open and marshland habitat at higher elevations over the winter.

[25] Additionally, research within Tasmania found that ravens were thirty percent more likely to be observed in farmland habitat than in non-agricultural forested or urban areas.

[21] Populations in Victoria and New South Wales are possibly expanding,[21] with the species more evident in towns such as Forster-Tuncurry and Port Macquarie,[24] and along segments of the Oxley Highway between Wauchope and Walcha, and Thunderbolts Way between Gloucester and Nowendoc, most likely due to roadkill from increased vehicular traffic.

[27] It is unclear whether records since the 1970s in areas where the forest raven was unknown are the result of range expansion or improved field observations and identification.

Agonistic displays to ward off potential intruders include flying to a high perch and calling loudly with head extended and hackles raised.

[29] Forest ravens generally walk when moving around on the ground, though do hop when hurrying, such as when trying to avoid an oncoming car on a road.

[28] The nest is a bowl-shaped structure of twigs lined with available materials such as leaves, wool, grass, bark, feathers, or occasionally horse manure or hair from cattle.

[28] Forest ravens observed on the beach at Wilson's Promontory would glean the sand and turn over or disturb pieces of seaweed and debris for insect prey.

[35] Forest ravens forage in pairs or groups of up to ten birds, though they may gather in much larger numbers if there is an abundant food source, such as a large carcass, rubbish, or insect swarm.

[35] The species is attracted to areas where people have discarded excess food, such as rubbish tips, picnic grounds, parks, gardens, and roads.

[35] Foraging takes place in the early morning or late afternoon; birds rest in the hotter part of the day.

Across much of Tasmania, forest ravens have benefited from the disease-driven decline of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) due to greater access to carrion.

In contrast, forest ravens within Tasmania appear to scavenge heavily on roadkill only during Autumn, when other resources like invertebrates and fruit are sparse.

Field observations in Nambucca showed that they built stick-like platforms 30–40 cm (12–16 in) in diameter high in the canopies of trees as places to store and eat food.

In another field study, a forest raven stole a cape barren goose egg and hid it in a grassy tussock to consume later.

Infestation results in crusty grey lesions (knemidocoptiasis) around their tibiotarsal joints (ankles), caused by the mites living in tunnels under the skin.

[30] Its large range and abundance mean the bird is classified as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List; some decrease has been noted but it is of insufficient size or duration to change classification.

[1] The populations of northern New South Wales have been classified as "near threatened" in 2000 by Garnett and Crowley and were estimated at the time to number about 10,000 breeding pairs.

[40] Larger numbers of forest ravens (alongside swamp harriers and brown falcons) were killed in 1958 as rabbit populations dwindled due to myxomatosis and predatory birds were thought to have turned their attention to poultry and livestock.

[41] Studies on corvids elsewhere in Australia showed that the killing of healthy lambs was rare, but that sick animals were predisposed to be attacked, and hence their poor reputation was unjustified.