About Corvus capensis Lichtenstein, 1823
The Cape crow, also called the black crow, has the scientific name Corvus capensis. This bird is slightly larger than the carrion crow, measuring 48–50 cm in length. Its entire body is covered in completely black feathers that have a faint purple gloss. It has proportionately longer legs, wings, and tail than the carrion crow, plus a much longer, slimmer bill that appears adapted for probing into the ground to find invertebrates. Its head feathers carry a coppery-purple gloss, and its throat feathers are quite long; these throat feathers are fluffed out during some calls and displays. This species is found across two large, separate regions of the African continent. One population ranges from the Cape at Africa’s southern tip north to southern Angola, and extends east across to Mozambique’s east coast. The second separate population occupies a large area of central East Africa, covering South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya. On average, the more northern population is slightly smaller than the southern one. The Cape crow lives in open grassland, moorland, and agricultural areas that have some trees or woodland nearby for nesting. It particularly thrives in agricultural areas.
