Cape Crow

Corvus capensis Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823

48–50 cmLength553 gWeight

The Cape crow or black crow (Corvus capensis) is slightly larger (48–50 cm in length) than the carrion crow and is completely black with a slight gloss of purple in its feathers.

Busiest months: October–November · Most records: South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: October–November · Most records: South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia

Cape Crow has been recorded at 169 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 12 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Etosha NP – Okaukuejo CampNamibia471 records
De Hoop Nature ReserveSouth Africa360 records
Wakkerstroom areaSouth Africa280 records

More places

Lake Nakuru NPKenya248 records
Serengeti NPTanzania225 records
Sululta PlainEthiopia201 records
Ngorongoro Conservation Area – Ngorongoro CraterTanzania167 records
Midmar Dam – South ShoreSouth Africa158 records
Sani Pass (ZA) – low elevationSouth Africa145 records
Etosha NP – Halali CampNamibia116 records

Countries and regions with the most records

South Africa Tanzania Namibia Kenya Ethiopia Lesotho Botswana Zimbabwe

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Cape crow or black crow (Corvus capensis) is slightly larger (48–50 cm in length) than the carrion crow and is completely black with a slight gloss of purple in its feathers. It also has proportionately longer legs, wings, and tail, and has a much longer, slimmer bill that seems to be adapted for probing into the ground for invertebrates. The head feathers have a coppery-purple gloss and the throat feathers are quite long and fluffed out in some calls and displays.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia