Pied Crow ( Corvus albus, family: Corvidae)
The Pied Crow (Latin name Corvus albus) is described in Roberts Birds of
Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of
548 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 723 also a
picture of the Pied Crow on page 768. The Pied Crow belongs to the
family of birds classified as Corvidae.
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 Pied Crow is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.
In terms of distribution of the Pied Crow in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Pied Crow : see above distribution map.
The Pied Crow.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Pied Crow is a largish bird. The height of the Pied Crow is about 52 cms and its weight is about 550 gms
The male and female Pied Crow have the same plumage and colours
- Head is black.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is white.
- Back is black.
- Legs are black.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Pied Crow feeds on the ground mainly
Invertebrates
Fruits
Seeds
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Pied Crow is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Corvus albus will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Pied Crow is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are green in colour and number between 1 to 7
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Pied Crow are: woodlands . The Pied Crow is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.
You will normally see the Pied Crow in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Igwangwa/Igwarhube
Zulu ... iGwababa/uGwabayi
Afrikaans ...Witborskraai
German ... Schildrabe
Portuguese ... Gralha-seminarista
French ... Corbeau pie
Dutch ... Schildraaf
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 548
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
