White-necked Raven ( Corvus albicollis, family: Corvidae)

white necked raven kruger national park birds The White-necked Raven (Latin name Corvus albicollis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 550 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 724 also a picture of the White-necked Raven on page 768. The White-necked Raven belongs to the family of birds classified as Corvidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the White-necked Raven is also known by these other names: Cape Raven.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The White-necked Raven is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the White-necked Raven in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. White-necked Raven : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The White-necked Raven is a bird about the size of a grey hornbill. The height of the White-necked Raven is about 50 cms and its weight is about 800 gms

The male and female White-necked Raven have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is black.
  • Back is black.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The White-necked Raven feeds on the ground mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The White-necked Raven is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Corvus albicollis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of White-necked Raven is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are green, blue in colour and number between 2 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for White-necked Raven are: woodlands and grasslands . The White-necked Raven is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You will normally see the White-necked Raven in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ihlungulu/Igrwababa/Umfundisi

Zulu ... iHubulu/iWabayi

Afrikaans ...Withalskraai

German ... Geierrabe

Portuguese ... Corvo-das-montanhas

French ... Corbeau nuque blanche

Dutch ... Witnekraaf

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 550

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za