Difference between revisions of "Pied Crow" - BirdForum Opus

Latest revision as of 23:25, 12 November 2023

Photo by M Cowming
Tanzania

Alternative names: African Pied Crow; White-bellied Crow

Corvus albus

Identification

45 cm. A large Crow:

Black head, neck, tail, bill and wings
White collar on upper mantle, broadening on underparts over breast and foreflanks.
Dark brown eye

Sexes similar. Juveniles have less glossed black than adults.

Distribution

Photo by Mybs
Stellenbosch area, South Africa, December 2005

Subsaharan Africa and Madagascar.
Absent in most of Ethiopia and Eritrea and another gap in the arid regions of Namibia and Botswana. Records in south Morocco.
Common and widespread in its range.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
Forms a superspecies with Brown-necked Raven and is known to hybridize with this species in the northeast of its range.

Habitat

Open country, open woodlands, grasslands, savanna, riverbanks and lakeshores. Often in human habitation including cities.

Behaviour

Diet includes insects and other small invertebrates, small reptiles, small mammals, young birds and eggs, grain, peanuts, carrion and any scraps of human food and fruit. Often seen near roads waiting for kills, also scavenging at rbbish dumps with Black Kites and Marabou Storks.
Usually foraging in paris or small groups. Sometimes larger flocks reported when food is abundant.
Breeding season varies with local rains. The nest is usually built in tall trees. 4-5 pale green brown spotted eggs, are laid. Incubation is 18-19 days and the young are usually fledged by around 45 days. Both sexes rear the young. The nest is sometimes parasitized by Great Spotted Cuckoo.

Vocalisation

The voice is described as a harsh ar-ar-ar-ar or karh-karh-karh.

References

Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Pied Crow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pied_Crow

External Links

Search for photos of Pied Crow in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-;Corvus albus
+[[Image:Pied_Crow.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by {{user|M+Cowming|M Cowming}}<br/>[[Tanzania]] ]]
-[[Image:Pied_Crow.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by M Cowming]]
+'''Alternative names: African Pied Crow; White-bellied Crow'''
+;[[:Category:Corvus|Corvus]] albus
-Location:  Tanzania
 ==Identification==
-The Pied Crow (Corvus albus) is a widely distributed African bird species in the crow genus.
+cm. A large Crow:
+* Black head, neck, tail, bill and wings
-It is approximately the size of the European Carrion Crow or a little larger (46-50 cm in length) but has a proportionately larger bill and slightly longer tail, wings and longer legs. As its name suggests, its glossy black head and neck are interrupted by a large area of white feathering from the shoulders down to the lower breast. The tail, bill and wings are black too. It is rarely seen very far from human habitation though is not as tied to the urban way of life in the same way as the House Crow (Corvus splendens) of Asia.
+* White collar on upper mantle, broadening on underparts over breast and foreflanks.
+* Dark brown eye
-The voice is described as a harsh "ar-ar-ar-ar" or "karh-karh-karh".
+Sexes similar. Juveniles have less glossed black than adults.
 ==Distribution==
-This species, Africa's most widespread member of the genus Corvus occurs from Sub-Saharan Africa down to the Cape of Good Hope and also the large island of Madagascar, the Comoros islands, Aldabra, Zanzibar, Pemba and Fernando Po.
+[[Image:12347Pied Crow BF.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Photo by {{user|Mybs|Mybs}} <br />Stellenbosch area, [[South Africa]], December 2005]]
+Subsaharan [[Africa]] and [[Madagascar]].<br />
+Absent in most of [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]] and another gap in the arid regions of [[Namibia]] and [[Botswana]]. Records in south [[Morocco]].<br />
+Common and widespread in its range.
 ==Taxonomy==
-Structurally, the Pied Crow is perhaps better thought of as a small crow-sized Raven, especially as it can hybridise with the Somali Crow (Dwarf Raven), Corvus edithae where their ranges meet in the Horn of Africa. Its behaviour though is more typical of the Eurasian Carrion Crows and it may perhaps prove to be a modern day link (along with the Somali Crow) between the Eurasian Crows and the Common Ravens.
+This is a monotypic species.<br />
+Forms a superspecies with [[Brown-necked Raven]] and is known to hybridize with this species in the northeast of its range.
 ==Habitat==
-It inhabits mainly open country with villages and towns nearby. It does not occur in the equatorial rainforest region.
+Open country, open woodlands, grasslands, savanna, riverbanks and lakeshores. Often in human habitation including cities.
 ==Behaviour==
+Diet includes insects and other small invertebrates, small reptiles, small mammals, young birds and eggs, grain, peanuts, carrion and any scraps of human food and fruit. Often seen near roads waiting for kills, also scavenging at rbbish dumps with [[Black Kite]]s and [[Marabou Stork]]s.<br />
+Usually foraging in paris or small groups. Sometimes larger flocks reported when food is abundant.<br />
+Breeding season varies with local rains. The nest is usually built in tall trees. 4-5  pale green brown spotted eggs, are laid. Incubation is 18-19 days and the young are usually fledged by around 45 days. Both sexes rear the young. The nest is sometimes parasitized by [[Great Spotted Cuckoo]].<br />
+====Vocalisation====
+The voice is described as a harsh ''ar-ar-ar-ar'' or ''karh-karh-karh''.
+==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thDec08}}#{{Ref-HBWVol14}}
+{{Ref}}
+==External Links==
+{{GSearch|"Corvus albus" {{!}} "Pied Crow" {{!}} "African Pied Crow" {{!}} "White-bellied Crow"}}
+{{GS-checked}}1
+<br />
+<br />
-Most of its food is obtained from the ground such as insects and other small invertebrates, small reptiles, small mammals, young birds and eggs, grain, peanuts, carrion and any scraps of human food and fruit. It has been recorded killing and eating roosting Fruit Bats and is frequently seen (sometimes in huge numbers) scavenging around slaughter houses.
+[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Corvus]]
-The nest is usually built in tall, isolated trees though sometimes smaller specimens are used depending on availability. The cross supports of telephone poles are also frequently used. Eggs, average 4-5 from September to November (depending on latitude) and are pale green spotted with brown. The eggs are normally covered when the incubating female leaves the nest. Incubation is 18-19 days and the young are usually fledged by around 45 days. Both sexes rear the young.
-==External Links==
-*[http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php?mcats=all&what=allfields&si=Corvus+albus View more images of Pied Crow in the gallery]
-[[Category:Birds]]