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Bismarck Crow Corvus insularis Scientific name definitions

Stephen Debus
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2009

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

40–41 cm. Medium-sized crow with a massive black bill and a rather short tail. Entire plumage is glossy black; iris pale blue; bill black, sometimes with pale tip; legs black. Sexes similar. Differs from C. meeki in slightly smaller bill, and slightly longer tail, but most importantly in iris colour. Juvenile is like adult, including pale blue eyes.

Systematics History

Formerly treated as a race of C. orru, more recently as a race of C. meeki. Differs from former mainly in overall morphology (structure, bill size, tail length), iris colour of juvenile, and vocalizations; from C. meeki less markedly in overall morphology, but significantly in iris colour of adult, vocalizations, preferred habitat, flocking behaviour, and flight action (deep wingbeats interspersed with glides vs shallow wingbeats). Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Bismarck Archipelago: New Britain, New Ireland, New Hanover and satellite islands.

Habitat

Forest edge, partly cleared areas, gardens, and plantations of coconut (Cocos nucifera) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis); lowlands to 1500 m. Sometimes seen in towns; only rarely in closed-canopy forest, the preferred habitat of C. meeki.

Movement

Apparently resident. Flocks appear to be locally mobile; often seen flying at great height, suggesting extensive local movement.

Diet and Foraging

Probably omnivorous; insects, berries and fruits, including wood-boring grubs in coconut plantations. A tame bird was seen to cache surplus food. Forages in small groups both in canopy and on ground; also in gardens.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Series of short nasal staccato cawing notes, shorter and more rapid than those of C. orru, and shorter and less rolling than those of C. meeki; caws can end with drawn-out terminal note. Also a long rattling caw and deep knocking sounds.

Breeding

Eggs reported in Feb–Mar and nestling(s) in Mar. One nest was 50 cm wide and 15 cm deep, lined with coconut palm sheath fibres and aerial roots, and built high in fork of tree. No further information available.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not assessed. Probably not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in New Britain and New Ireland EBA. Common in disturbed areas; one of the very few bird species to inhabit oil palm plantations in Bismarcks. Biology very poorly known.
Distribution of the Bismarck Crow - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Bismarck Crow

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Debus, S. (2020). Bismarck Crow (Corvus insularis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.torcro3.01
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