Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Currently, 139 species are included in this family. The genus Corvus containing 50 species makes up over a third of the entire family. Corvids (ravens) are the largest passerines.
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 subspecies 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.
Steller's jay is a bird native to western North America and the mountains of Central America, closely related to the blue jay found in eastern North America. It is the only crested jay west of the Rocky Mountains. It is also sometimes colloquially called a "blue jay" in the Pacific Northwest, but is distinct from the blue jay of eastern North America. The species inhabits pine-oak and coniferous forests.
The grey treepie, also known as the Himalayan treepie, is an Asian treepie, a medium-sized and long-tailed member of the crow family. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. They are widely distributed along the foothills of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Indochina, southern mainland China and Taiwan. The populations vary in plumage and several are named as subspecies.
The nutcrackers (Nucifraga) are a genus of four species of passerine bird, in the family Corvidae, related to the jays and crows.
Clark's nutcracker, sometimes referred to as Clark's crow or woodpecker crow, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to the mountains of western North America. The nutcracker is an omnivore, but subsists mainly on pine nuts, burying seeds in the ground in the summer and then retrieving them in the winter by memory. The bird was described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, with William Clark first observing it in 1805 along the banks of the Salmon River, a tributary of the Columbia River.
The black turnstone is a species of small wading bird. It is one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria the ruddy turnstone being the other. It is now classified in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae, but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family, Charadriidae. It is native to the west coast of North America and breeds only in Alaska.
The Virginia rail is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae. These birds remain fairly common despite continuing loss of habitat, but are secretive by nature and more often heard than seen. They are also considered a game species in some provinces and states, though rarely hunted. The Ecuadorian rail is often considered a subspecies, but some taxonomic authorities consider it distinct.
The northern nutcracker, previously known as spotted nutcracker and Eurasian nutcracker, is a passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It is slightly larger than the Eurasian jay but has a much larger bill and a slimmer looking head without any crest. The feathering over its body is predominantly chocolate brown with distinct white spots and patches. The wings and upper tail are black with a greenish-blue gloss.
The Kashmir flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It breeds in the Northwest Himalayas and winters in southern India and Sri Lanka. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the red-breasted flycatcher, Ficedula parva, which is its closest living relative. Males are distinctive in having a blackish border to the reddish throat while the females can easily be confused with those of F. parva.
Cuculus saturatus, better well known as the Himalayan cuckoo or Oriental cuckoo, is a brooding parasitic bird that is part of the Cuculidae family. The species breeds from the Himalayas eastward to southern China and Taiwan. It migrates to southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands for the winter.
The lesser striped swallow is a large swallow. It breeds in Sub-Saharan Africa from Sierra Leone and southern Sudan south into eastern South Africa. It is partially migratory with South African birds wintering further north. West African birds leave the north of the breeding range in the dry season.
Menetries's warbler or Ménétries's warbler is a small passerine bird of Southwest Asia belonging to the genus Curruca. The name of the species commemorates Édouard Ménétries, the French zoologist who described the species in 1832. It is closely related to the Sardinian warbler of the Mediterranean basin and is similar to it in appearance.
The garnet-throated hummingbird is a species of hummingbird in tribe Lampornithini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
The band-winged nightjar or greater band-winged nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is widespread in South America, where it is found in the Andes, Venezuelan Coastal Range, Santa Marta Mountains, Tepuis, most of Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and eastern Brazil. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, from the edge of humid montane forests to shrubby semi-deserts and urban rooftops.
Boucard's wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
The turquoise jay is a species of bird in the family Corvidae.
The large ground finch is a species of bird in the genus Geospiza. One of Darwin's finches, it is now placed in the tanager family Thraupidae and was formerly in the Emberizidae. It is the largest species of Darwin's finch.
Woodhouse's scrub jay is a species of scrub jay native to western North America, ranging from southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho to central Mexico. Woodhouse's scrub jay was until recently considered the same species as the California scrub jay, and collectively called the western scrub jay. Prior to that both of them were also considered the same species as the island scrub jay and the Florida scrub jay; the taxon was then called simply the scrub jay. Woodhouse's scrub jay is nonmigratory and can be found in urban areas, where it can become tame and will come to bird feeders. While many refer to scrub jays as "blue jays", the blue jay is a different species of bird entirely. Woodhouse's scrub jay is named for the American naturalist and explorer Samuel Washington Woodhouse.
The southern nutcracker is a passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the northern nutcracker and the Kashmir nutcracker under the English name "spotted nutcracker".
