Pied Crow
The Pied Crow is a species of corvid found across much of sub-Saharan Africa. They live in open country, often close to human habitation. The species is closely related to the Somali Crow, with which it sometimes hybridizes.
Pied Crows are omnivorous, taking small prey items like spiders, ticks, and beetles, as well as plant material like dates and nuts. They are also frequently found foraging in dumps or taking carrion. Pied Crows are year-round residents throughout their range, though seasonal movements depending on drought conditions may cause some populations to shift in search of food.
Pied Crows are highly intelligent. They breed well in captivity and are sometimes found in educational programs at zoos and nature centers, where they can be trained to perform for public events. In the wild, Pied Crows have a stable population and are not considered to be endangered.
Details & Statistics
- Least Concern (LC)
- Near Threatened (NT)
- Vulnerable (VU)
- Endangered (EN)
- Critically Endangered (CR)
- Extinct in the Wild (EW)
- Extinct (EX)
Conservation
The Pied Crow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2013 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
International Names
