Thursday 28 July 2016

House Crow (Corvus splendens)

OTHER NAMES: Indian Crow, Indian House Crow, Grey-necked Crow, Columbo Crow
Latin Etymology: Corvus ("raven") splendens ("brilliant/glittering")
Adult House Crow (Corvus splendens - unknown subspecies) in Kuala Lumpur - July 2016

Featured Subspecies: Unknown - from an introduced population
Weight: 320-415g  /  Length: 40-43cm  /  Wingspan: 76-85cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The House Crow is a species that has benefited greatly from the influence of humans - initially resident primarily on the Indian Sub-continent and surroundings, with the advent of human trading it has been able to spread to new locations including South-East Asia, East Africa and the Middle-East, where it has thrived.  It has even reached Europe in small numbers, and can be found in some port cities, though it is unclear at this point how sustainable those are.  It is a comparatively slender member of it's order, but also something I noticed - much quieter than most other corvids I have encountered - the only time I even particularly noticed them calling was when walking beneath some trees they had been nesting in.

Related Species:
ORDER: Passeriformes
FAMILY: Corvidae
GENUS: Corvus
SUBSPECIES: C. s. zugmayeri, C. s. splendens, C. s. maldevicus, C. s. protegatus, C. s. insolens

 - Sighting Locations -
MALAYSIA - Malay - Gagak Rumah ("Home Crow")
An abundant resident of urban areas.
 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Abundant throughout Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur and Malacca
SINGAPORE - A common resident.
 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Several seen near Singapore Airport.
 - CAMBODIA/SINGAPORE 2019 TRIP:Several at Sungei Buloh

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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