Somali Crow Corvus edithae Scientific name definitions

46 cm; 435–450 g. Large corvid with tail of moderate length and distinctly graduated towards tip, stout bill and pointed throat feathers. Plumage black, glossed with green on crown and upperparts, gloss more violet on upperwing and tail; head and neck, including hindneck, dark glossy brown, duller and more blackish-brown when worn; feathers of throat and neck have white bases, those of rest of body are pale grey at base; underparts and underwing dull sooty black; iris dark brown; bill and legs black. Differs from C. ruficollis in smaller size and shorter bill, in flight by shorter wings and tail (and bill not regularly held pointing downwards). Sexes similar, Juvenile is duller and browner on head and body than adult. Hybrids with C. albus have pale or grey breast, or speckled breast and collar.

• Pied x Somali Crow (hybrid) Corvus albus x edithae

Eritrea, Djibouti, E & S Ethiopia, most of Somalia, extreme SE South Sudan and N Kenya.

Open country, from deserts and bushy semi-deserts to dry savanna, and patchy cultivation, including coastal desert and inshore islands; in Kenya and Ethiopia exceptionally reaches 3000 m, but rarely above 2000 m and most numerous below 1100 m. Readily scavenges in villages and small towns.

Sedentary, as far as is known.

Omnivorous. Diet probably similar to that of C. albus. Recorded items include carrion, small "animals", various invertebrates (insects and their larvae), ticks (Ixodoidea) and lice, and bird eggs; some plant material also taken, including grain. Forages on ground, alone, in pairs or in well spaced small flocks. Walks with ease, occasionally hops. Quite aggressive when in flocks, recorded as pointing bill skywards as a threat to approaching bird, which usually turns away. Outside breeding season, family parties gather into flocks of up to 100. Visits rubbish dumps, often boldly entering villages, sometimes with C. albus. Recorded as tearing into sacks to feed on grain; alights on camels to search for ectoparasites. Patrols seashore in search of carrion. Generally sociable at nocturnal roost, often in stands of palms, but said to prefer resting on ground by oasis (rather than in trees) for daytime roosting.

Season chiefly Feb and May–Jun; eggs recorded Feb in Eritrea, Feb and May–Jun in Ethiopia, Mar–Jun (chiefly Apr and May) in Somalia, and Apr in Kenya. Pair-bond probably lifelong, and presumably monogamous. Solitary nester, with inter-nest distance 1·5–3 km; statements in older literature that this species nests in loose colonies not supported by modern observations. Nest, seemingly built by both sexes, a large untidy mass of sticks, cup lined with wool, feathers and plant fibres, usually placed in tree, more rarely on cliff ledge, in cave or on pylon or pole. Clutch 4–5 eggs, rarely 6; no information on incubation and nestling periods. Nest ocasionally parasitized by Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius).

Not assessed. Probably not globally threatened. Common and widespread, but often somewhat localized. More field research required in order to determine population densities and precise relationship with C. albus. Its tolerance of humans and its scavenging habits should ensure a stable future, but interbreeding with the increasing and spreading C. albus could perhaps pose a threat in the long term.