House Crow (Corvus Splendens) (Corvus Splendens)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

House Crow (Corvus Splendens) (Corvus Splendens)

HEAD AND NECK BILL • Face and throat black • Black and pointed • Neck and breast lighter grey Cape Town Pest Alert House crow (Corvus splendens) (Corvus splendens) House crow BODY • Black wings, but breast area and mantle grey – different from indigenous crows IDENTIFICATION: TAIL • Black, square shaped in flight; Please report all sightings of the house crow to LEGS AND FEET in indigenous crows the tail is • Black more rounded www.capetowninvasives.org.za Photographs courtesy of: Peter Ryan & Errol Douwes Why is it a problem? Legal status Join the iSpot House crows have invaded Cape Town via docking ships. They compete with Network indigenous crow species for the same resources and carry and spread a range of diseases. They can be noisy and disruptive in urban areas and are known to attack 1a people. These birds also hunt and kill smaller indigenous birds. NEMBA Category 1a Invader What can I do? Why has it adapted so well? 1) Sign up to iSpot at The climate and urban environment What does the law say? www.ispot.org.za around Cape Town are favourable to house crows. They also adapt extremely well to 2) Take digital photos of any house crows you encounter in industrial areas. Under the National Environmental residential or industrial areas or in the open veld. Management: Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA) No. 10 of 2004, House crows are 3) Take note of the date and locality of your Don’t mistake house crows for: designated as a Category 1b Invasive house crow sighting. Alien Species. 4) Upload this information and your photo onto the iSpot This legislation states that: website where the information will be captured by • No person may import, trade or breed scientists who will send out a team. house crows. • House crows need to be managed as part of an invasive control plan. • Once the control plan has been adopted in an area, no person may, without a permit, possess any house crows. Cape crow For more information, contact: The Cape Town Invasive Species Unit, Environmental Resource Management, Westlake Conservation Did you know? Office, Ou Kaapse Weg, Tokai. Tel: (021) 712 1434/1944 Email: [email protected] Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ctinvasives House crows were first observed in the early 1990s in Cape Town, but within two decades their numbers reached into the thousands. Pied crow Help us protect Cape Town’s natural heritage from alien invader plant species. Sign up online and become a volunteer. White-necked raven www.capetowninvasives.org.za.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

South Africa Mega Birding Tour I 6Th to 30Th January 2018 (25 Days) Trip Report
South Africa Mega Birding Tour I 6th to 30th January 2018 (25 days) Trip Report Aardvark by Mike Bacon Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Wayne Jones Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Mega I 2018 2 Tour Summary The beauty of South Africa lies in its richness of habitats, from the coastal forests in the east, through subalpine mountain ranges and the arid Karoo to fynbos in the south. We explored all of these and more during our 25-day adventure across the country. Highlights were many and included Orange River Francolin, thousands of Cape Gannets, multiple Secretarybirds, stunning Knysna Turaco, Ground Woodpecker, Botha’s Lark, Bush Blackcap, Cape Parrot, Aardvark, Aardwolf, Caracal, Oribi and Giant Bullfrog, along with spectacular scenery, great food and excellent accommodation throughout. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Despite havoc-wreaking weather that delayed flights on the other side of the world, everyone managed to arrive (just!) in South Africa for the start of our keenly-awaited tour. We began our 25-day cross-country exploration with a drive along Zaagkuildrift Road. This unassuming stretch of dirt road is well-known in local birding circles and can offer up a wide range of species thanks to its variety of habitats – which include open grassland, acacia woodland, wetlands and a seasonal floodplain. After locating a handsome male Northern Black Korhaan and African Wattled Lapwings, a Northern Black Korhaan by Glen Valentine
[Show full text]
Bontebok Birds
Birds recorded in the Bontebok National Park 8 Little Grebe 446 European Roller 55 White-breasted Cormorant 451 African Hoopoe 58 Reed Cormorant 465 Acacia Pied Barbet 60 African Darter 469 Red-fronted Tinkerbird * 62 Grey Heron 474 Greater Honeyguide 63 Black-headed Heron 476 Lesser Honeyguide 65 Purple Heron 480 Ground Woodpecker 66 Great Egret 486 Cardinal Woodpecker 68 Yellow-billed Egret 488 Olive Woodpecker 71 Cattle Egret 494 Rufous-naped Lark * 81 Hamerkop 495 Cape Clapper Lark 83 White Stork n/a Agulhas Longbilled Lark 84 Black Stork 502 Karoo Lark 91 African Sacred Ibis 504 Red Lark * 94 Hadeda Ibis 506 Spike-heeled Lark 95 African Spoonbill 507 Red-capped Lark 102 Egyptian Goose 512 Thick-billed Lark 103 South African Shelduck 518 Barn Swallow 104 Yellow-billed Duck 520 White-throated Swallow 105 African Black Duck 523 Pearl-breasted Swallow 106 Cape Teal 526 Greater Striped Swallow 108 Red-billed Teal 529 Rock Martin 112 Cape Shoveler 530 Common House-Martin 113 Southern Pochard 533 Brown-throated Martin 116 Spur-winged Goose 534 Banded Martin 118 Secretarybird 536 Black Sawwing 122 Cape Vulture 541 Fork-tailed Drongo 126 Black (Yellow-billed) Kite 547 Cape Crow 127 Black-shouldered Kite 548 Pied Crow 131 Verreauxs' Eagle 550 White-necked Raven 136 Booted Eagle 551 Grey Tit 140 Martial Eagle 557 Cape Penduline-Tit 148 African Fish-Eagle 566 Cape Bulbul 149 Steppe Buzzard 572 Sombre Greenbul 152 Jackal Buzzard 577 Olive Thrush 155 Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk 582 Sentinel Rock-Thrush 158 Black Sparrowhawk 587 Capped Wheatear
[Show full text]
House Crow 14Û Huiskraai HOUSE CROW Corvus Splendens 1 5 the House Crow Is an Aggressive Alien Species 18Û Which Occurs in Suburban, Urban and Industrial Areas
108 Corvidae: crows and ravens House Crow 14˚ Huiskraai HOUSE CROW Corvus splendens 1 5 The House Crow is an aggressive alien species 18˚ which occurs in suburban, urban and industrial areas. Its centre of distribution in South Africa is Durban (2931CC); there are also records from East London (3327BB), and Cape Town (3318CD) 22˚ where it breeds (unpubl. data). In Mozambique it 6 has been recorded in Maputo, and on Inhaca Island 2 it is a resident breeder (Liversidge 1985a; Ginn et al. 1989; V. Parker pers. comm.). It is resident, but 26˚ also a vigorous colonizer (Long 1981). It occurs naturally from Iran to Burma but has successfully colonized many Indian Ocean islands and port cities in the Middle East and along the east coast 3 7 of Africa; some translocations were ship-assisted 30˚ (Long 1981; Madge & Burn 1994). It was first positively recorded in Durban in 1972 (Sinclair 1974), but may have been present 4 8 by 1966–67 (Newmann 1974). Numbers grew 34˚ slowly until 1989; an eradication campaign, sanc- 18˚ 22˚ 26˚ tioned by conservation bodies and the Durban City 10˚ 14˚ 30˚ 34˚ Council (Berruti & Nichols 1991), reduced num- bers to c. 150 birds by 1991; numbers then increased to over 500 birds by 1993. In Durban, it breeds mainly October– November. Outside the breeding season it forms large roosts and may occur in flocks. Recorded in 5 grid cells, 0.1% The first records in the southwestern Cape Province were Total number of records: 301 from Cape Town harbour (3318CD) in November 1977 and Mean reporting rate for range: 9.7% November 1979 and from Zeekoeivlei (3418BA) in December 1979 (Sinclair 1980; Woods 1980).
[Show full text]
Crow Threat to Raptors?
PIED pirates CROW THREAT TO RAPTORS? There has been much debate about the effects on biodiversity of increasing Pied Crow and other corvid populations in Africa, but little has been quantified. It is evident from the latest bird atlas data that there are now more Pied Crows in southern Africa than there were a decade ago and that the species has spread into areas of the Karoo where it did not occur previously. But what effect is this having on other bird species? TEXT BY ROB SIMMONS & PHOEBE BARNARD ALBERT FRONEMAN arious reports indicate that one a Rock Kestrel and another a Southern crows are impacting negatively Pale Chanting Goshawk, all of which were on other creatures in their en- carrying mice in their talons. Prey-carrying vironment. Farmers complain raptors are usually provisioning dependent aboutV increasing predation by ‘crows’ on females or nestlings, so piracy affects more lambing ewes, birders suggest that more at- than simply the bird with the food. tacks are occurring on passerine birds, and The following three incidents serve to conservationists and members of the pub- highlight the modus operandi of the crows. lic report greater numbers of crows killing We then investigated other parts of Africa small tortoises. However, almost nothing to determine if piracy targeting raptors is has been quantified as to the level of such limited to western South Africa as a zone predation, the magnitude of the upsurge of Pied Crow range expansion or is a more in crow interactions and the effect on the widespread strategy. species being attacked. We do not yet have In the West Coast National Park in such data, but we do take a first look at 2008, our attention was drawn to a Black- what may be an increasing and somewhat shouldered Kite that was calling from a surprising addition to the negative effects height of over 150 metres and circling up- of crows – those on birds of prey.
[Show full text]
Jan 2021 ZSL Stocklist.Pdf (699.26
Zoological Society of London - January 2021 stocklist ZSL LONDON ZOO Status at 01.01.2021 m f unk Invertebrata Aurelia aurita * Moon jellyfish 0 0 150 Pachyclavularia violacea * Purple star coral 0 0 1 Tubipora musica * Organ-pipe coral 0 0 2 Pinnigorgia sp. * Sea fan 0 0 20 Sarcophyton sp. * Leathery soft coral 0 0 5 Sinularia sp. * Leathery soft coral 0 0 18 Sinularia dura * Cabbage leather coral 0 0 4 Sinularia polydactyla * Many-fingered leather coral 0 0 3 Xenia sp. * Yellow star coral 0 0 1 Heliopora coerulea * Blue coral 0 0 12 Entacmaea quadricolor Bladdertipped anemone 0 0 1 Epicystis sp. * Speckled anemone 0 0 1 Phymanthus crucifer * Red beaded anemone 0 0 11 Heteractis sp. * Elegant armed anemone 0 0 1 Stichodactyla tapetum Mini carpet anemone 0 0 1 Discosoma sp. * Umbrella false coral 0 0 21 Rhodactis sp. * Mushroom coral 0 0 8 Ricordea sp. * Emerald false coral 0 0 19 Acropora sp. * Staghorn coral 0 0 115 Acropora humilis * Staghorn coral 0 0 1 Acropora yongei * Staghorn coral 0 0 2 Montipora sp. * Montipora coral 0 0 5 Montipora capricornis * Coral 0 0 5 Montipora confusa * Encrusting coral 0 0 22 Montipora danae * Coral 0 0 23 Montipora digitata * Finger coral 0 0 6 Montipora foliosa * Hard coral 0 0 10 Montipora hodgsoni * Coral 0 0 2 Pocillopora sp. * Cauliflower coral 0 0 27 Seriatopora hystrix * Bird nest coral 0 0 8 Stylophora sp. * Cauliflower coral 0 0 1 Stylophora pistillata * Pink cauliflower coral 0 0 23 Catalaphyllia jardinei * Elegance coral 0 0 4 Euphyllia ancora * Crescent coral 0 0 4 Euphyllia glabrescens * Joker's cap coral 0 0 2 Euphyllia paradivisa * Branching frog spawn 0 0 3 Euphyllia paraancora * Branching hammer coral 0 0 3 Euphyllia yaeyamaensis * Crescent coral 0 0 4 Plerogyra sinuosa * Bubble coral 0 0 1 Duncanopsammia axifuga + Coral 0 0 2 Tubastraea sp.
[Show full text]
OSME List V3.4 Passerines-2
The Ornithological Society of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia (OSME) The OSME Region List of Bird Taxa: Part C, Passerines. Version 3.4 Mar 2017 For taxa that have unproven and probably unlikely presence, see the Hypothetical List. Red font indicates either added information since the previous version or that further documentation is sought. Not all synonyms have been examined. Serial numbers (SN) are merely an administrative conveninence and may change. Please do not cite them as row numbers in any formal correspondence or papers. Key: Compass cardinals (eg N = north, SE = southeast) are used. Rows shaded thus and with yellow text denote summaries of problem taxon groups in which some closely-related taxa may be of indeterminate status or are being studied. Rows shaded thus and with white text contain additional explanatory information on problem taxon groups as and when necessary. A broad dark orange line, as below, indicates the last taxon in a new or suggested species split, or where sspp are best considered separately. The Passerine Reference List (including References for Hypothetical passerines [see Part E] and explanations of Abbreviated References) follows at Part D. Notes↓ & Status abbreviations→ BM=Breeding Migrant, SB/SV=Summer Breeder/Visitor, PM=Passage Migrant, WV=Winter Visitor, RB=Resident Breeder 1. PT=Parent Taxon (used because many records will antedate splits, especially from recent research) – we use the concept of PT with a degree of latitude, roughly equivalent to the formal term sensu lato , ‘in the broad sense’. 2. The term 'report' or ‘reported’ indicates the occurrence is unconfirmed.
[Show full text]
Corvidae Species Tree
Corvidae I Red-billed Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax Pyrrhocoracinae =Pyrrhocorax Alpine Chough, Pyrrhocorax graculus Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Temnurus temnurus Temnurus Black Magpie, Platysmurus leucopterus Platysmurus Racket-tailed Treepie, Crypsirina temia Crypsirina Hooded Treepie, Crypsirina cucullata Rufous Treepie, Dendrocitta vagabunda Crypsirininae ?Sumatran Treepie, Dendrocitta occipitalis ?Bornean Treepie, Dendrocitta cinerascens Gray Treepie, Dendrocitta formosae Dendrocitta ?White-bellied Treepie, Dendrocitta leucogastra Collared Treepie, Dendrocitta frontalis ?Andaman Treepie, Dendrocitta bayleii ?Common Green-Magpie, Cissa chinensis ?Indochinese Green-Magpie, Cissa hypoleuca Cissa ?Bornean Green-Magpie, Cissa jeﬀeryi ?Javan Green-Magpie, Cissa thalassina Cissinae ?Sri Lanka Blue-Magpie, Urocissa ornata ?White-winged Magpie, Urocissa whiteheadi Urocissa Red-billed Blue-Magpie, Urocissa erythroryncha Yellow-billed Blue-Magpie, Urocissa ﬂavirostris Taiwan Blue-Magpie, Urocissa caerulea Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyanus Cyanopica Iberian Magpie, Cyanopica cooki Siberian Jay, Perisoreus infaustus Perisoreinae Sichuan Jay, Perisoreus internigrans Perisoreus Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis White-throated Jay, Cyanolyca mirabilis Dwarf Jay, Cyanolyca nanus Black-throated Jay, Cyanolyca pumilo Silvery-throated Jay, Cyanolyca argentigula Cyanolyca Azure-hooded Jay, Cyanolyca cucullata Beautiful Jay, Cyanolyca pulchra Black-collared Jay, Cyanolyca armillata Turquoise Jay, Cyanolyca turcosa White-collared Jay, Cyanolyca viridicyanus
[Show full text]
Common Birds of Namibia and Botswana 1 Josh Engel
Common Birds of Namibia and Botswana 1 Josh Engel Photos: Josh Engel, [[email protected]] Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History and Tropical Birding Tours [www.tropicalbirding.com] Produced by: Tyana Wachter, R. Foster and J. Philipp, with the support of Connie Keller and the Mellon Foundation. © Science and Education, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605 USA. [[email protected]] [fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/guides] Rapid Color Guide #584 version 1 01/2015 1 Struthio camelus 2 Pelecanus onocrotalus 3 Phalacocorax capensis 4 Microcarbo coronatus STRUTHIONIDAE PELECANIDAE PHALACROCORACIDAE PHALACROCORACIDAE Ostrich Great white pelican Cape cormorant Crowned cormorant 5 Anhinga rufa 6 Ardea cinerea 7 Ardea goliath 8 Ardea pupurea ANIHINGIDAE ARDEIDAE ARDEIDAE ARDEIDAE African darter Grey heron Goliath heron Purple heron 9 Butorides striata 10 Scopus umbretta 11 Mycteria ibis 12 Leptoptilos crumentiferus ARDEIDAE SCOPIDAE CICONIIDAE CICONIIDAE Striated heron Hamerkop (nest) Yellow-billed stork Marabou stork 13 Bostrychia hagedash 14 Phoenicopterus roseus & P. minor 15 Phoenicopterus minor 16 Aviceda cuculoides THRESKIORNITHIDAE PHOENICOPTERIDAE PHOENICOPTERIDAE ACCIPITRIDAE Hadada ibis Greater and Lesser Flamingos Lesser Flamingo African cuckoo hawk Common Birds of Namibia and Botswana 2 Josh Engel Photos: Josh Engel, [[email protected]] Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History and Tropical Birding Tours [www.tropicalbirding.com] Produced by: Tyana Wachter, R. Foster and J. Philipp,
[Show full text]
Extreme Binocular Vision and a Straight Bill Facilitate Tool Use in New Caledonian Crows
ARTICLE Received 12 Apr 2012 | Accepted 4 Sep 2012 | Published 9 Oct 2012 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2111 Extreme binocular vision and a straight bill facilitate tool use in New Caledonian crows Jolyon Troscianko1, Auguste M.P. von Bayern2, Jackie Chappell1,*, Christian Rutz2,†,* & Graham R. Martin1,* Humans are expert tool users, who manipulate objects with dextrous hands and precise visual control. Surprisingly, morphological predispositions, or adaptations, for tool use have rarely been examined in non-human animals. New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides use their bills to craft complex tools from sticks, leaves and other materials, before inserting them into deadwood or vegetation to extract prey. Here we show that tool use in these birds is facilitated by an unusual visual-field topography and bill shape. Their visual field has substantially greater binocular overlap than that of any other bird species investigated to date, including six non- tool-using corvids. Furthermore, their unusually straight bill enables a stable grip on tools, and raises the tool tip into their visual field’s binocular sector. These features enable a degree of tool control that would be impossible in other corvids, despite their comparable cognitive abilities. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence for tool-use-related morphological features outside the hominin lineage. 1 School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. 2 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. † Present address: School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Sir Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK. *These authors are joint senior authors. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.T.
[Show full text]
The Best of SOUTH AFRICA October 15-31 2018
TRIP REPORT: The Best of SOUTH AFRICA October 15-31 2018 The Best of SOUTH AFRICA Birding Safari October 15-31, 2018 Tour leaders: Josh Engel and David Nkosi Click here for the trip photo gallery Next trip: October 10-26, 2020 South Africa never fails to amaze. From the spectacular scenery and endemic birds of the Cape to the megafauna-filled wilderness of Kruger National Park, every single day brings something new, surprising, and awe-inspiring. This trip exceeded expectations—over 400 species of birds and an incredible 60 species of mammals, all seen while staying in interesting, varied, and excellent accommodations, eating delicious food, and thoroughly enjoying all aspects of traveling in South Africa. It’s hard to know where to start with bird and animal highlights. There are, of course, the most sought-after birds, like Protea Canary, Cape Rockjumper, Black Harrier, Rudd’s Lark, Black-eared Sparrowlark, Southern Black Korhaan, and Blue Korhaan. There were also the incredible bird experiences—the Shy Albatrosses surrounding our pelagic boat, the Cape Sugarbird singing from atop of king protea flower, the nest-building Knysna Turacos, the Water Thick-knees trying to chase a Water Monitor away from their nest. Mammals take a front seat in South Africa, too. We had incredible sightings of Leopard and Lion in Kruger, numerous White and a single Black Rhinoceros, along with many encounters with Elephant, Giraffes, and other iconic African animals. But we also saw many awesome small mammals, including Meerkat, Large- and Small- spotted Genet, White-tailed Mongoose, and a Cape Clawless Otter munching on a fish.
[Show full text]
Density of Pied Crows Corvus Albus in Two of South Africa's Protected Areas
bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.19.444802; this version posted July 3, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. 1 Density of Pied Crows Corvus albus in two of South Africa’s 2 protected areas 3 Thomas F. Johnson1*, Campbell Murn2,3 4 1: Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, S10 2TN 5 2: Hawk Conservancy Trust, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 8DY, England 6 3: School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6AS, England 7 *Corresponding author: [email protected] 8 Thomas F. Johnson ORCID: 0000-0002-6363-1825 9 Campbell Murn ORCID: 0000-0003-4064-6060 10 11 Abstract 12 In recent decades, the pied crow Corvus albus population has grown in southern Africa, and 13 this may have had impacts on other species. Conservationists and land managers may 14 question the degree of threat posed by pied crows to other species, but a scarcity of 15 ecological information on pied crows limits evidence-based decision-making. Using a 16 distance density function we provide initial pied crow density estimates of 0.24 crows km-2 17 (0.12-0.5; 95% CI) and 0.18 crows km-2 (0.07-0.45; 95% CI) in two protected areas in the 18 Northern Cape Province of South Africa. We infer that pied crow density is negatively 19 associated with the normalised difference vegetation index (NVDI). 20 Key words: Distance sampling, NVDI, Kimberley, Mokala, Dronfield 21 Introduction 22 Concerns about the growing pied crow Corvus albus population in southern Africa over the 23 last 30 years (Cunningham et al., 2016) stem from the potential impacts on other species.
[Show full text]
Successful Citizen Or Voracious Vermin? What We Know, What We Don’T Know, and What We Need to Know to Address the Pied Crow Conundrum in South Africa
Sponsored by Successful Citizen or Voracious Vermin? What we know, what we don’t know, and what we need to know to address the Pied Crow conundrum in South Africa August 2020 Review compiled for BirdLife South Africa by: Andrew Jenkins & Anthony van Zyl, AVISENSE Consulting 1 • PIED CROWS AND BIODIVERSITY Contents Summary 3 Introduction 4 Methods 4 Results & Discussion 5 Anthropogenic-related habitat transformation 5 Pied Crow biology 8 Changes in Pied Crow numbers and distribution in South Africa 9 Biodiversity impacts of Pied Crows in South Africa 10 Knowledge gaps & research questions 10 Way forward 10 Conclusion 11 Acknowledgements 11 References 12 Appendix 1 14 Appendix 2 15 Reviewed and edited by Melissa Howes-Whitecross, Kyle Walker, Hanneline Smit-Robinson and Mark Anderson. 2 • PIED CROWS AND BIODIVERSITY Cover image: Andrew Jenkins Summary irdLife South Africa receives regular enquiries from its Bmembership and the broader general public about the in- creasing spread of Pied Crows Corvus albus into new habitats in South Africa. A common perception is that this phenome- non may be both ecologically damaging and financially cost- ly and should be actively managed to mitigate these impacts. For BirdLife South Africa to develop a properly informed policy on this issue, AVISENSE Consulting was contracted to (i) compile an objective review of what is known from other areas about the expansion of corvid populations into new en- vironments, including the direct and indirect effects of such expansions on local biodiversity and the efficacy of various measures used to control or eradicate invasive crows around the world, (ii) assess what is known about Pied Crow biology, about changes in the species’ distribution in South Africa, and about the biodiversity impacts of such changes, and (iii) identify important gaps in the knowledge required to formu- late a rational, defensible, ethical and effective approach to addressing this problem (if, indeed, one is required).
[Show full text]