Sunday 23 August 2009

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)

OTHER NAMES: Crow, Corbie, Gor Crow
Latin Etymology: Corvus ("raven") corone ("crow")
Left: Adult Carrion Crow (subspecies C. c. corone) at Regent's Park, London - April 2010
Right: Adult Carrion Crow (subspecies C. c. orientalis) at Akan Crane Centre, Hokkaido, Japan - December 2014

Featured Subspecies: Corvus corone corone AND Corvus corone orientalis
Weight: 370-650g  /  Length: 45-47cm  /  Wingspan: 93-104cm
UK GREEN LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The carrion crow is probably the most visible of the already (mostly) highly visibly crow family, it can be found across a wide number of habitats, but it probably most easily seen in parks and towns. In my experience, the best views are actually built up areas where the birds have become accustomed to scavenging from humans, for instance, the car parks of service stations. How approachable they are varies depending on population, with crows from more urban areas seeming less flighty than their more rural counterparts. The photo here was taken in London where I was able to get to within a few feet of the bird, whereas the previous photo taken in Bewick-Upon-Tweed was from a greater distance of a more flighty set of birds.  Internationally - in Austria they are at the edge of the Hooded and Carrion Crow range, so both are found, while in Japan it is less common in most places than the ubiquitous Large-billed Crow, but more common in Hokkaido.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Corvus
Subspecies: C. c. corone, C. c orientalis

- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - Very common resident (1,000,000 territories)
 - Birds seen at most sites including but not limited to Rutland WaterTrevose HeadRainham MarshesRegent's Park,Kensington GardensPitsford Reservoir and Geddington.
AUSTRIA - Common breeding resident
 - TOKYO/HOKKAIDO 2014 TRIP - STOPOVER: Several birds around Vienna Airport 
JAPAN - Japanese - ハシボソガラス  / Hashi-boso garasu ("Slender-billed Crow")
Locally common resident.
 - TOKYO/HOKKAIDO 2014 TRIP: A few seen around Hokkaido including Akan Crane Centre, Kushiro and Shiranuka
SPAIN - Spanish - Corneja negra ("Black crow")
A fairly common resident.
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: A few seen around Monfrague National Park.


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