Fan-tailed raven

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Fan-tailed raven
Fan-tailed raven (Corvus rhipidurus).jpg
Awash National Park, Ethiopia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Corvus
Species:
C. rhipidurus
Binomial name
Corvus rhipidurus
Hartert, 1918
Corvus rhipidurus map.jpg
Distribution map

The fan-tailed raven (Corvus rhipidurus) is a passerine bird of the crow family native to Eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Contents

Description

The fan-tailed raven is completely black including bill, legs and feet and the plumage has a purplish-blue gloss in good light. Worn plumage is slightly coppery-brown. The base of the feathers on the upper neck are white and only seen if the bird is inspected or a strong gust blows them the wrong way. The throat hackles are shorter than in most other ravens. One of the smaller raven species, it is about the same size or slightly larger than the carrion crow, at 47–51 cm, but with a much thicker bill, shorter tail and much larger wings.

The voice is described as guttural croaks mixed with the sound of frog-call. Like all corvids, the fan-tailed raven is capable of vocal mimicry; however, this behavior is mostly recorded in captivity and, very rarely, in the wild.

Distribution and habitat

It occurs in the Middle East, North Africa, Arabia, and south to Sudan and Kenya. It also ranges across the Aïr Massif in the southern Sahara. It lives in desert or open dry country that includes crags for nesting. It is one of the most aerial of birds traveling huge distances in search of food, its large wings being adapted to gliding on thermals in a rather vulture-like way.

Behaviour

Diet

Food is invariably taken on the ground and includes all manner of insects and other invertebrates, grain taken from animal dung, carrion and scraps of human food. It has also been seen taking skin parasites from camels and, where not persecuted, scavenges around rubbish dumps and camp sites. Fruits of all types are eaten readily. It soars and plays in thermals even more so than other raven species and often associates with the brown-necked raven roosting in the same tree as it.

Nesting

This species nests on rock ledges and in cavities in cliffs though very rarely in Somalia it has been known to nest in trees. There are usually 2–4 eggs laid. The great-spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) sometimes uses this species as a brood host.

Related Research Articles

Raven Index of animals with the same common name

A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus Corvus. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", and these appellations have been assigned to different species chiefly on the basis of their size.

Carrion crow Species of bird

The carrion crow is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Corvus which is native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic.

Hooded crow Species of bird

The hooded crow is a Eurasian bird species in the genus Corvus. Widely distributed, it is also known locally as Scotch crow and Danish crow. In Ireland, it is called caróg liath or grey crow, as it is in the Slavic languages and in Danish. It is called "mist crow" (Nebelkrähe) in German, and "dolman crow" in Hungarian. Found across Northern, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East, it is an ashy grey bird with black head, throat, wings, tail, and thigh feathers, as well as a black bill, eyes, and feet. Like other corvids, it is an omnivorous and opportunistic forager and feeder.

Australian raven Passerine bird native to Australia

The Australian raven is a passerine bird in the genus Corvus native to much of southern and northeastern Australia. Measuring 46–53 centimetres (18–21 in) in length, it has all-black plumage, beak and mouth, as well as strong grey-black legs and feet. The upperparts are glossy, with a purple, blue, or green sheen, and its black feathers have grey bases. The Australian raven is distinguished from the Australian crow species by its throat hackles, which are prominent in adult birds. Older adult individuals have white irises, younger adults have white irises with an inner blue rim, while younger birds have dark brown irises until fifteen months of age, and hazel irises with an inner blue rim around each pupil until age two years and ten months. Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield described the Australian raven in 1827, its species name (coronoides) highlighting its similarity with the carrion crow. Two subspecies are recognized, which differ slightly in calls and are quite divergent genetically.

Torresian crow Species of bird

The Torresian crow, also called the Australian crow or Papuan crow, is a passerine bird in the crow family native to the north and west of Australia and nearby islands in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The species has a black plumage, beak and mouth with white irises. The base of the feathers on the head and neck are white. The Torresian crow is slightly larger with a more robust bill than the morphologically similar little crow.

Forest raven Passerine bird in the family Corvidae native to Tasmania and parts of southern Victoria

The forest raven, also commonly known as the Tasmanian raven, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae native to Tasmania and parts of southern Victoria, such as Wilsons Promontory and Portland. Populations are also found in parts of New South Wales, including Dorrigo and Armidale. Measuring 50–53 cm (20–21 in) in length, it has all-black plumage, beak and legs. As with the other two species of raven in Australia, its black feathers have grey bases. Adults have white irises; younger birds have dark brown and then hazel irises with an inner blue rim. New South Wales populations are recognised as a separate subspecies C. tasmanicus boreus, but appear to be nested within the Tasmanian subspecies genetically.

Little raven Species of bird

The little raven is a species of the family Corvidae that is native to southeastern Australia. An adult individual is about 48–50 cm (19–19.5 in) in length, with completely black plumage, beak, and legs; as with all Australian species of Corvus, the black feathers have a grey base, and the iris of the adult bird is white . Although the little raven was first named by Gregory Mathews in 1912, it was only in 1967 that there was consensus to separate it from the Australian raven as a distinct species.

Thick-billed raven Species of bird

The thick-billed raven, a corvid from the Horn of Africa, shares with the common raven the distinction of being the largest bird in the corvid family, and indeed the largest of the passerines. The thick-billed raven averages 64 cm (25 in) in length, with a range of 60 to 70 cm and weighs approximately 1.15 kg (2.5 lb) in females and 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) in males on average. Its size is about the same as the largest species of common raven but some common raven subspecies are rather smaller and, going on average weights, the thick-billed raven is likely the heaviest extant passerine. The thick-billed raven is about 25% heavier on average than the Australasian superb lyrebird, which is sometimes erroneously titled the largest passerine.

Pied crow Species of bird

The pied crow is a widely distributed African bird species in the crow genus.

House crow Species of bird

The house crow, also known as the Indian, greynecked, Ceylon or Colombo crow, is a common bird of the crow family that is of Asian origin but now found in many parts of the world, where they arrived assisted by shipping. It is between the jackdaw and the carrion crow in size but is slimmer than either. The forehead, crown, throat and upper breast are a richly glossed black, whilst the neck and breast are a lighter grey-brown in colour. The wings, tail and legs are black. There are regional variations in the thickness of the bill and the depth of colour in areas of the plumage.

White-necked raven Species of bird

The white-necked raven is somewhat smaller than the common raven or its nearest relative, the thick-billed raven C. crassirostris. It is native to eastern and southern Africa.

Daurian jackdaw Species of bird of the genus Coloeus

The Daurian jackdaw is a bird in the crow family, Corvidae, native to eastern Asia. It is closely related to the western jackdaw. The name derives from the Dauria region of eastern Russia.

Collared crow Species of bird

The collared crow, also known as the ring-necked crow or white-collared crow, is a member of the family Corvidae native to China and north of Vietnam.

Brown-necked raven Species of bird

The brown-necked raven is a larger bird than the carrion crow though not as large as the common raven. It has similar proportions to the common raven but the bill is not so large or deep and the wings tend to be a little more pointed in profile. The head and throat are a distinct brownish-black giving the bird its English name, while the rest of the plumage is black glossed with purple, blue or purplish-blue. Like the Common raven, Thick-billed raven and White-necked raven, it is one of the larger raven species. The smaller raven species are the Australian raven, Forest raven, Little raven, Fan-tailed raven and Chihuahuan raven with the Thick-billed raven being the world's largest raven species and the Chihuahuan raven being the smallest. The feathers of this species often fade quite quickly to a brownish black and the bird can look distinctly brown by the time it moults. The feet, legs and bill are black. The dwarf raven was formerly considered a subspecies but this bird now appears to be closer to the pied crow than this species.

Large-billed crow Species of bird

The large-billed crow, formerly referred to widely as the jungle crow, is a widespread Asian species of crow. It is very adaptable and is able to survive on a wide range of food sources, making it capable of colonizing new areas, due to which it is often considered a nuisance, especially on islands. It has a large bill, which is the source of its scientific name macrorhynchos and it is sometimes known by the common name thick-billed crow. It can also be mistaken for a common raven. Johann Georg Wagler first described the species from a holotype obtained from Java in the year 1827. The eastern jungle crow and Indian jungle crow were once considered conspecific and together called the jungle crow.

Common raven Large, black, passerine bird of the Northern Hemisphere

The common raven, also known as the western raven or northern raven when discussing the raven at the subspecies level, is a large all-black passerine bird. Found across the Northern Hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids. There are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages 63 centimetres in length and 1.2 kilograms in mass. Although their typical lifespan is considerably shorter, common ravens can live more than 23 years in the wild, which among passerines only is surpassed by a few Australian species such as the satin bowerbird and probably the lyrebirds. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory.

White-necked crow Species of crow endemic to Hispaniola

The white-necked crow is the largest of the four Caribbean corvids. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola ; it was formerly also extant on Puerto Rico, but has been extirpated there due to considerable forest clearance and hunting.

Chihuahuan raven Species of bird

The Chihuahuan raven is a species of crow in the family Corvidae that is native to the United States and Mexico.

Rook (bird) Species of bird in the crow family Corvidae

The rook is a member of the Corvidae in the passerine order of birds. It is found in the Palearctic, its range extending from Scandinavia and western Europe to eastern Siberia. It is a large, gregarious, black-feathered bird, distinguished from similar species by the whitish featherless area on the face. Rooks nest collectively in the tops of tall trees, often close to farms or villages, the groups of nests being known as rookeries.

Somali crow Species of bird

The Somali crow, or dwarf raven, is approximately the size of the carrion crow, Corvus corone but with a longer bill and a somewhat more brownish cast to the feathers, especially when worn.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Corvus rhipidurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22706073A94049190. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22706073A94049190.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.