I was explaining to a friend how to use nouns with numerals 2, 3 and 4 and figured out that I don't know which of the following two possibilities is correct:
1a. Я вижу две вороны.
1b. Я вижу двух ворон.
In other words, should I use feminine nouns that denote animals as if they are animated (1b) or not (1a)? For masculine nouns it seems to be clearer, I'd say that 2b is better than 2a:
2a. Отец зарезал три барана.
2b. Отец зарезал трех баранов.
ворона
could be male, and this adds two more possibilities:1с. Я вижу два ворона
, and1d. Я вижу двух воронов
, both of which seem correct to me.