The Cape crow or black crow (''Corvus capensis'') is slightly larger (48–50 cm in length) than the

carrion crow The carrion crow (''Corvus corone'') is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus ''Corvus'' which is native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic. Taxonomy and systematics The carrion crow was one of the many species origi ...

and is completely black with a slight gloss of purple in its feathers. It has proportionately longer legs, wings and tail too and has a much longer, slimmer bill that seems to be adapted for probing into the ground for

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. The head feathers have a coppery-purple gloss and the throat feathers are quite long and fluffed out in some calls and displays.

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs in two large separate regions of the African continent. One form ranges from the Cape at the southern tip of Africa up to southern Angola and across to the east coast of Mozambique. The other population occurs in a large area from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya in central east Africa. The more northern population is on average slightly smaller than the southern. It inhabits open grassland, moorland, agricultural areas with some trees or woodland in the vicinity for nesting. It seems to thrive especially in agricultural areas.

Behaviour

Diet

As far as feeding is concerned, it eats grain and other seeds, invertebrates which it digs for with powerful downward stabs of its long bill. It opens

corncob A corncob, also called corn cob, cob of corn or corn on the cob, is the central core of an ear of corn (also known as maize). It is the part of the ear on which the kernels grow. The ear is also considered a "cob" or "pole" but it is not fully ...

kernels before they are fully ripe, bulbs and fleshy roots of certain plants, frogs and small reptiles, fruits and berries. It takes the eggs and chicks of ground nesting birds and has been known to kill birds of up to a pound in weight (especially domestic poultry). It turns over the droppings of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s for insects.

Nesting

Nesting is always in trees, usually near the top. It has been known to nest in shrubs but much less frequently. There are usually 3-4 eggs incubated over 18–19 days and fledged by around 38 days. Usually only 3 nestlings survive.

Voice

The voice is described as a ''"krrah.....krrah.....krrah"'' or a quicker ''"kah-kah-kah"''. It also makes very loud, liquid bubbling sounds that carry quite a distance and also gives throaty chuckles. There is evidence that vocal mimicry is practised too.

References

External links

* (Black Crow = ) Cape Crow
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

Photo Image Links

Good profile shot

Cape Crow or Black Crow

Cape Crow or Black Crow in ploughed field

Video Links

Cape Crow videos
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q1002590 Corvus Birds of East Africa Birds of Southern Africa Birds described in 1823