Crow

The Crow with the scientific name Corvus splendens is

a medium sized bird falling under the family Corvidae.

These species are very social and live in small groups of 2 to 15 birds averaging a group of 4.They are omnivorous.The quick classification of this species is given below,

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Passeriformes
Family	Corvidae
Genus	Corvus
Species	Corvus splendens

Physical Characteristics:

Corvus species are all black, except for the nape, sides of the head, upper back and breast which is black with little white or gray plumage. Their legs and feet are also black and they are stout with strong bills.Underparts are paler grey. Eyes are brown in color.Both male and female look alike. The common crow is approximately 42 cm in length and they weigh about 250 to 350 grams.

Behavior:

Carvus species are highly vocal, gregarious birds, seemingly unafraid of humans and aggressive, they may become a nuisance when they gather in huge communal roosts, sometimes numbering hundreds of thousands. This omnivorous bird is very aggressive and may prey on other birds and their eggs, and they often tend to destroy the crops. They are beneficial however in helping to control insects and other small rodents. The sound frequency that the crows can hear is lower than those that a human can hear.

Crows in groups show remarkable examples of intelligence.

Crows and ravens often attain very high as far as intelligence is concerned. They differ from other birds in their ability to hide and store food across seasons, and the ability to use individual experience in predicting the behavior of environmental conspecifics.

During the breeding season they are majorly seen in pairs, but it usually lives in group of up to 50 birds. It becomes aggressive against captors.

Though humans do not have ability to tell individual crows apart, crows have been found to have the power to visually recognize individual humans, and to broadcast information about "bad" humans by making a squawking tone. House crows rest communally near human habitations and often over busy streets. Recent research has found that certain crow species are not only capable of tool use but of tool construction as well. People of various groups now consider crow to be one of the world's most intelligent animals.

Migration:

Crows are called short distance migrants, some species are found just about anywhere. They are spotted mostly in mountains, across plains, woodlands, and farmers' fields, and throughout urban areas.At times crows gather and form large communal roosts. Communal roosts may stay in one location for a number of years or may shift from one place to another in response to changing conditions.During the day, crow population may be spread over a wide area but an hour before dusk they fly towards the roost .There will be several staging areas near the roost.

Food Habits:

Crows are Omnivorous, and their diet is so diverse.Their diet includes almost anything, including other birds, fruits, nuts, mollusks, earthworms, seeds, frogs, eggs, nestlings, mice and carrion. It feeds largely on refuse around human habitations. Crows have also been observed to fly down from the air and snatch the baby squirrels. Crows gather most of their food from the ground, but also from trees as opportunity arises, it can survive on nearly anything that is edible. These birds can be spotted close to market places and garbage dumps, and forage for scraps. The cause of placing scarecrows in grain fields resulted from the crows never-ending damaging and scavenging, although crows assist farmers by eating insects otherwise attracted to their crops.

Crows are found almost all over India except in high altitudes and forests.

These species are one of the birds which are commonly found in the Indian subcontinent.

Different species of crows are found in various Indian states like West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and other states as well. The below list of subspecies are found in India,

1) Corvus splendens splendens
2) Corvus splendens zugmayeri –found in Southern Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and western Rajasthan
3) Corvus splendens protegatus – found in Coastal areas, Kerala, Sri Lanka and nearby islets
4) Corvus splendens maledivicus –found in Maldives islands.

Habitat:

They are wholly dependent on human habitation and obviously found in villages, towns, and cities throughout its range.

Crow resorts to altitudinal and seasonal local movements in colder northern areas during winter and are replaced by Large-billed Crows and Jungle Crows in mountains and forests respectively.

Subspecies of Crow:

The other subspecies related to Crow found in India is as below,

1. Corvus (macrorhynchos) levaillantii [Eastern Jungle Crow]
2. Corvus (macrorhynchos) culminatus [Indian Jungle Crow]
3. Corvus splendens [House Crow or Indian House Crow] found in Indian subcontinent, Middle East, east Africa

4. Corvus corax [Common Raven or Northern Raven] found in Asia,

Holarctic south throughout middle Europe, and North America to Nicaragua
5. Corvus corone [Carrion Crow or Eurasian Crow] found in Western Europe from British Isles to Germany and to eastern Asia
6. Corvus frugilegus [Rook] found in Asia, Europe and New Zealand
7. Corvus monedula [Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw] found in northern Asia, British Isles and western Europe, Scandinavia,and Northern Africa
8. Corvus ruficollis [Brown-necked Raven or Desert Raven] found in Northern Africa, Arabia and southeast to eastern Asia

Mating and Nesting:

Crows generally nest once per year, their nests are bulky structures built in trees or bushes. The nest is made of various materials like twigs, lined with bark, grasses, and rootlets and lined with coir or other fiber. They take hardly one to two weeks to build a nest. Crows attain sexual maturity at the age of two years but sometimes do not breed until later in their life.


They are one among few bird species that show signs of cooperative breeding behavior. Crows have a tendency to stay with the same mate year after year. It is possible, for various exceptions to occur.

The female crow lays aroung 4 to 7 eggs in the nest, and the male helps to incubate the eggs. The color of the eggs varies from greenish or bluish, or blotched with brown.

The bird takes 6 days to lay eggs and 9 days of incubation.To begin with the penultimate, 30-35 days in the nest before fledging, and then 6 weeks to 2 months to feed the young to independence.

IUCN has categorized these species as 'Least Concern' since they are found widely throughout the world.

US fish and wildlife services have listed two species of crow as endangered one - The Hawaiian Crow and the Mariana Crow.

Interesting facts about Crow:

1. Various people believe in placing food for crow after worshipping god since it is considered to be the vehicle of God Sani, it would bring them wealth, happiness and would bring them the blessings of Lord Sani.
2. Crows are short distance migrants and move only a few miles from its nesting territory.