Crows (Corvidae)

Bougainville Crow (Corvus meeki) - HBW 14, p. 621

French: Corneille de Meek German: Bougainvillekrähe Spanish: Cuervo de la Bougainville
Other common names: Short-tailed/Solomon (Islands) Crow

Taxonomy: Corvus meeki Rothschild, 1904, Bougainville Island, Solomon Islands.
Probably closest to C. woodfordi, C. fuscicapillus and C. tristis, all apparently forming part of an "old endemic" Melanesian group. May form a superspecies with C. woodfordi; sometimes treated as conspecific, but differs in bill and eye colours, nature of nasal bristles, and plumage gloss. Sometimes treated as conspecific with C. insularis, but differs notably in iris colour of adult, vocalizations, preferred habitat, lack of flocking behaviour, and flight action (shallow wingbeats, as opposed to deep wingbeats interspersed with glides). Monotypic.

Distribution: Buka I, Bougainville I and Shortland Is, in extreme N Solomons.