African pied crows are from a species that is typically described as a small raven because it can hybridize with the more common raven, the dwarf raven. They are known as Somali crows in the scientific circles. Their hybridization happens in the horn of Africa because this is the area where the two species meet. But in terms of how they behave, the African pied crow is typically more like the Eurasian carrion crows, and scientists believe they may be a modern link between the Eurasian crow and the common raven. Indeed, this is one interesting bird, regardless of its origin.
In terms of size, African pied crows are about the size of their European carrion crow counterparts, and sometimes even slightly larger. The bill of the pied crow is quite a bit larger, also, and they have longer legs. Along with this, their tail and wings are somewhat longer. As the name of this beautiful bird suggests, the African pied crow has a glossy black head and neck, along with a huge area of white feathering between the head and neck. This feathering goes from the shoulders down to the lower breast. Their wings, bills, and tails are also black, and this beautiful crow has dark brown eyes.
YouTube
One thing that makes this crow very striking is the white plumage that the more immature birds have that’s sometimes mixed in with the black. Although the African pied crow resembles the thick-billed ravens and the ravens with white necks, it does have a much smaller bill. The bird’s history goes back a long way and was first described in 1776 by Statius Muller. The crow has a quite distinctive voice that some describe as somewhat harsh. Unlike other more common black crows, this one isn’t considered to be one of the crows that signify an ill-omen.
The sassy crow in the video below lives in North Yorkshire, England at Knaresborough Castle. His name is Mourdour.
