Crows (Corvidae)

Pied Crow (Corvus albus) - HBW 14, p. 636

French: Corbeau pie German: Schildrabe Spanish: Cuervo Pío
Other common names: African Pied Crow, White-bellied Crow

Taxonomy: Corvus albus Statius Müller, 1776, Senegal.
Forms a superspecies with C. edithae and C. ruficollis. Hybridizes frequently with former in NE of range; recent observations suggest that interbreeding is not immediate when the two meet, and that some time is required for breeding-cycle synchrony to develop. Despite extensive range of present species, little variation of any significance is apparent (birds in far N have somewhat larger bill than those in S), and no races have been described. Monotypic.

Distribution: Almost the whole of sub-Saharan Africa S from c. 17° N in Mauritania and Mali, C Chad and 20° N on Red Sea coast of Sudan (absent from extensive tracts of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, from the most arid regions of Namibia, W Botswana and Kalahari basin of NW South Africa, and from higher elevations of Lesotho); present on islands of Bioko (Fernando Póo), Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia (off Tanzania), and Comoro Is, Aldabra, Glorieuses Is and Madagascar.