Indian jungle crow | |
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Adult in Mudumalai, India | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Corvidae |
Genus: | Corvus |
Species: | C. culminatus |
Binomial name | |
Corvus culminatus Sykes, 1832 | |
Synonyms | |
Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus |
The Indian jungle crow (Corvus culminatus) is a species of crow found across the Indian Subcontinent south of the Himalayas. It is very common and readily distinguished from the house crow (Corvus splendens), which has a grey neck. In the past the species was treated as a subspecies of another crow species, but vocalizations and evidence from ectoparasite co-evolution and phylogenetic evidence have led to it being considered as a distinct species in modern taxonomic treatments. It differs in its voice from the large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) found in the higher elevations of the Himalayas and the eastern jungle crow (Corvus levaillantii) overlaps in the eastern part of its range. In appearance, it can be difficult to distinguish from either of these species although the plumage tends to be more uniformly glossed in purple and has a longer bill with a fine tip and a less arched culmen. The Himalayan species has a slightly wedge-shaped tail, unlike the rounded tail of the Indian jungle crow and tends to glide a lot .
This glossy all-black crow has a heavy black bill but without an arching culmen (upper edge of the mandible) and has a fine tip. The feathers have a purple gloss throughout. The tail of the Indian jungle crow is rounded and the legs and feet are stout. The base of the nape feathers is dusky. [1] The Himalayan japonensis (in this sense including western intermedius and eastern tibetosinensis) has a slightly wedge-shaped tail and a voice is a guttural and grating graak (intermedius) or a hoarse kyarrh (tibetosinensis). The calls of the Indian jungle crow are not unlike that of the house crow, but are harsher. In Sri Lanka, the house crow lacks the light grey neck, but the neck is slimmer than in the jungle crow. The sexes are indistinguishable. [2]
The classification of the Asian crows has been in a state of confusion. This species was described as Corvus culminatus by Colonel W. H Sykes based on a specimen from Pune. Eugene Oates lumped this with Corvus macrorhynchos in The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma (1889), based on what had been concluded by Allan Octavian Hume based on the inability to see consistent differences in the specimens. [3] [4] [5] W. E. Brooks had pointed out that the voice of the Himalayan species differed significantly apart from having a longer tail. [6] [7] [8] The second edition of The Fauna of British India. (1922) by Stuart Baker considered macrorhynchos as a form restricted to Java and considered the Indian forms to be made up of three subspecies of the Australian raven (Corvus coronoides). [9] Ernst Hartert looked at the colour of the base of the neck feather and grouped those that had grey bases into one group (coronoides ravens) and those that had white bases into the crow (southern) group and the northern forms, including the Indian ones, into levaillantii, with nine subspecies. [10] Ernst Mayr reshuffled the group in 1940. [11] Hugh Whistler and Norman Boyd Kinnear decided that the three Indian forms culminatus, intermedius and macrorhynchos were subspecies of Corvus macrorhynchos. [12] Charles Vaurie made another revision in 1954. [13] Salim Ali and Dillon Ripley in the Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan used macrorhynchos, under which they placed four forms: culminatus, intermedius, levaillantii and tibetosinensis. [14]
Ectoparasitic bird lice in the genus Myrsidea coevolve with their hosts and a study of speciation within the genus suggested distinct groups with well-marked distributions. [15] Comparisons of the vocalizations of birds from different areas also indicated clear differences [16] and analysis of sequence divergence in the mitochondrial DNA suggests that the Himalayan population (termed as japonensis by some or as intermedius+tibetosinensis by those who restrict the range of japonensis to Japan) differentiated from the plains-dwelling culminatus nearly 2 million years ago. [17] [18] [19]
The Indian jungle crow is found across mainland India south of the foothills of the Himalayas, east of the desert regions of northwestern India and having an eastern limit around Bengal. It is also found in Sri Lanka. [2]
The Indian jungle crow is resident throughout its range. It is usually seen singly, in pairs or small groups. It is an opportunist and generalist omnivore. It may soften its food by dropping it in water, [20] and have also been observed to eat sand after feeding on meat from a carcass. [21] They have a range of cawing vocalizations. It sometimes flies with special flight styles, hoarse calls in flight or when perched with a puffed throat and accompanied by bowing movements of the head and tail dipping. The behavioural significance of these calls and postures is unknown. [14]
The breeding season is mainly March–April in northern India and earlier in southern India. In Sri Lanka, it is from May–July. The nest is a platform of twigs placed in a large tree and very rarely on buildings. The centre of the nest is neatly lined with hair, coir or other fine fibres. The usual clutch is three to five pale blue-green eggs speckled with brown. The eggs hatch after about 17–19 days and the young fledge in about a month. The nests are sometimes parasitized by the Asian koel, although not as frequently as the house crow. [22]
The Australian raven is a passerine bird in the genus Corvus native to much of southern and northeastern Australia. Measuring 46–53 centimetres (18–21 in) in length, it has all-black plumage, beak and mouth, as well as strong grey-black legs and feet. The upperparts are glossy, with a purple, blue, or green sheen, and its black feathers have grey bases. The Australian raven is distinguished from the Australian crow species by its throat hackles, which are prominent in adult birds. Older adult individuals have white irises, younger adults have white irises with an inner blue rim, while younger birds have dark brown irises until fifteen months of age, and hazel irises with an inner blue rim around each pupil until age two years and ten months. Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield described the Australian raven in 1827, its species name (coronoides) highlighting its similarity with the carrion crow. Two subspecies are recognized, which differ slightly in calls and are quite divergent genetically.
The Torresian crow, also called the Australian crow or Papuan crow, is a passerine bird in the crow family native to the north and west of Australia and nearby islands in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The species has a black plumage, beak and mouth with white irises. The base of the feathers on the head and neck are white. The Torresian crow is slightly larger with a more robust bill than the morphologically similar little crow.
The forest raven, also commonly known as the Tasmanian raven, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae native to Tasmania and parts of southern Victoria, such as Wilsons Promontory and Portland. Populations are also found in parts of New South Wales, including Dorrigo and Armidale. Measuring 50–53 cm (20–21 in) in length, it has all-black plumage, beak and legs. As with the other two species of raven in Australia, its black feathers have grey bases. Adults have white irises; younger birds have dark brown and then hazel irises with an inner blue rim. New South Wales populations are recognised as a separate subspecies C. tasmanicus boreus, but appear to be nested within the Tasmanian subspecies genetically.
The little raven is a species of the family Corvidae that is native to southeastern Australia. An adult individual is about 48–50 cm (19–19.5 in) in length, with completely black plumage, beak, and legs; as with all Australian species of Corvus, the black feathers have a grey base, and the iris of the adult bird is white . Although the little raven was first named by Gregory Mathews in 1912, it was only in 1967 that there was consensus to separate it from the Australian raven as a distinct species.
The rufous treepie is a treepie, native to the Indian Subcontinent and adjoining parts of Southeast Asia. It is a member of the crow family, Corvidae. It is long tailed and has loud musical calls making it very conspicuous. It is found commonly in open scrub, agricultural areas, forests as well as urban gardens. Like other corvids it is very adaptable, omnivorous and opportunistic in feeding.
The grey treepie, also known as the Himalayan treepie, is an Asian treepie, a medium-sized and long-tailed member of the crow family. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. They are widely distributed along the foothills of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Indochina, southern mainland China and Taiwan. The populations vary in plumage and several are named as subspecies.
The large-billed crow, formerly referred to widely as the jungle crow, is a widespread Asian species of crow. It is very adaptable and is able to survive on a wide range of food sources, making it capable of colonizing new areas, due to which it is often considered a nuisance, especially on islands. It has a large bill, which is the source of its scientific name macrorhynchos and it is sometimes known by the common name thick-billed crow. It can also be mistaken for a common raven. Johann Georg Wagler first described the species from a holotype obtained from Java in the year 1827. The eastern jungle crow and Indian jungle crow were once considered conspecific and together called the jungle crow.
The greater coucal or crow pheasant, is a large non-parasitic member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. A widespread resident in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, it is divided into several subspecies, some being treated as full species. They are large, crow-like with a long tail and coppery brown wings and found in a wide range of habitats from jungle to cultivation and urban gardens. They are weak fliers, and are often seen clambering about in vegetation or walking on the ground as they forage for insects, eggs and nestlings of other birds. They have a familiar deep resonant call which is associated with omens in many parts of its range.
The common tailorbird is a songbird found across tropical Asia. Popular for its nest made of leaves "sewn" together and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling as Darzee in his Jungle Book, it is a common resident in urban gardens. Although shy birds that are usually hidden within vegetation, their loud calls are familiar and give away their presence. They are distinctive in having a long upright tail, greenish upper body plumage and rust coloured forehead and crown. This passerine bird is typically found in open farmland, scrub, forest edges and gardens. Tailorbirds get their name from the way their nest is constructed. The edges of a large leaf are pierced and sewn together with plant fibre or spider silk to make a cradle in which the actual nest is built. Punjab tailor birds produce shiny red eggs, but became extinct around 1975 due to laying their eggs in fields used to grow fodder crops.
The Indian roller is a bird of the family Coraciidae. It is 30–34 cm (12–13 in) long with a wingspan of 65–74 cm (26–29 in) and weighs 166–176 g (5.9–6.2 oz). The face and throat are pinkish, the head and back are brown, with blue on the rump and contrasting light and dark blue on the wings and tail. The bright blue markings on the wing are prominent in flight. The sexes are similar in appearance. Two subspecies are recognised.
The white-throated kingfisher also known as the white-breasted kingfisher is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Asia from the Sinai east through the Indian subcontinent to China and Indonesia. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range, although some populations may make short distance movements. It can often be found well away from water where it feeds on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents and even birds. During the breeding season they call loudly in the mornings from prominent perches including the tops of buildings in urban areas or on wires.
The Asian koel is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies. The Asian koel like many of its related cuckoo kin is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of crows and other hosts, who raise its young. They are unusual among the cuckoos in being largely frugivorous as adults. The name koel is echoic in origin with several language variants. The bird is a widely used symbol in Indian and Nepali poetry.
A crow is a bird of the genus Corvus, or more broadly a synonym for all of Corvus. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait, but is rather a general grouping for larger species of Corvus.
The yellow-billed blue-magpie , or gold-billed magpie, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, along with crows and jays. It forms a superspecies with the Taiwan blue magpie and the red-billed blue magpie. The species' range covers the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent, including the lower Himalayan foothills, with a disjunct population in Vietnam.
The Bengal eagle-owl, also widely known as the Indian eagle-owl or rock eagle-owl, is a large horned owl species native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian Subcontinent. It is splashed with brown and grey, and has a white throat patch with black small stripes. It was earlier treated as a subspecies of the Eurasian eagle-owl. It is usually seen in pairs. It has a deep resonant booming call that may be heard at dawn and dusk.
The Banggai crow is a member of the crow family from Banggai regency in the province of Central Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is listed as critically endangered by IUCN. It was feared extinct, but was finally rediscovered during surveys on Peleng Island off the southeast coast of Sulawesi by Indonesian ornithologist Mochamad Indrawan in 2007 and 2008.
The eastern jungle crow is a bird in the family Corvidae. It is found in China, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand. It is invasive to Sri Lanka.
The red-headed trogon is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae.
Jungle crow is a common name that refers to three species of crow. Initially thought to be a single species, the group has since been split into the following species: