Tamaulipas crow

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Tamaulipas crow
Imparatus.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Corvus
Species:
C. imparatus
Binomial name
Corvus imparatus
Peters, 1929
Corvus imparatus map.jpg

The Tamaulipas crow (Corvus imparatus) is a crow found in northeastern Mexico and southern Texas.

Contents

Description

It is a relatively small and sleek looking crow, 34–38 centimetres (13–15 in) in length. It has very glossy dark, bluish plumage, which appears soft and silky. The bill is quite slender and black, as are the legs and feet. The Chihuahuan raven, a much larger and very different bird, is the only crow it commonly occurs alongside. [3]

Taxonomy

The Sinaloa crow (Corvus sinaloae) appears to be genetically extremely close to this bird and can be considered the western form of it though the voice is quite different, indeed a third species, the fish crow (Corvus ossifragus) of the southeastern United States appears to be very closely related to them also and the three may be considered a superspecies.

Distribution and habitat

Occurring in a relatively small area in northeastern Mexico, it inhabits near desert scrub and bushland and includes farms, small towns and villages in its range. It also occurs in more humid woodland in open areas but does not appear to be found in the higher mountains or along the seashore. It is a sociable bird often forming large flocks, moving together in close groups. Its northern range reaches Brownsville in southern Texas where it has been known to nest. [4]

Behaviour

Diet

Food would appear to be mainly insects taken on the ground though eggs and nestlings are taken in trees as well as many fruits and berries.

Nesting

The nest is similar to the American crow but smaller and is built in a tree or large bush.

Voice

The voice of this crow is unusual and unlike most other species of the genus Corvus. It has a low croaking sound rather like a frog and a call that is described as a soft "gar-lik".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corvidae</span> Family of perching birds

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, 135 species are included in this family. The genus Corvus containing 47 species makes up over a third of the entire family. Corvids (ravens) are the largest passerines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian raven</span> Passerine bird native to Australia

The Australian raven is a passerine corvid bird native to Australia. Measuring 46–53 centimetres (18–21 in) in length, it has an all-black plumage, beak and mouth, as well as strong, greyish-black legs and feet. The upperparts of its body are glossy, with a purple-blue, greenish sheen; its black feathers have grey bases. The Australian raven is distinguished from the Australian crow, and other related corvids, by its long chest feathers, or throat hackles, which are prominent in mature birds. Older individuals and subadults have white irises, while the younger birds' eyes display blue inner rims; hatchlings and young birds have brown, dark irises until about fifteen months of age, at which point their irises become hazel-coloured, with an inner blue rim around each pupil, this lasting until they are roughly 2.5 to 3 years of age. 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 recognised, which differ slightly in their vocalisations, and are quite divergent, genetically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torresian crow</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little raven</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steller's jay</span> Species of bird found in western North America

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fish crow</span> Species of bird

The fish crow is a species of crow associated with wetland habitats in the eastern and southeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinaloa crow</span> Species of bird

The Sinaloa crow is a crow native to western Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape crow</span> Species of bird

The Cape crow or black crow is slightly larger 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fan-tailed raven</span> Species of bird

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown-necked raven</span> 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large-billed crow</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban crow</span> Species of bird

The Cuban crow is a crow species native to the northern Caribbean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaican crow</span> Species of bird

The Jamaican crow is a comparatively small corvid. It shares several key morphological features with two other West Indian species, the Cuban crow and the white-necked crow of Hispaniola, which are very closely related to it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-necked crow</span> 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 and Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, but has been extirpated from both islands due to considerable forest clearance and hunting for meat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey crow</span> Species of bird

The gray crow, formerly known as the bare-faced crow, is about the same size as the Eurasian carrion crow but has somewhat different proportions and quite atypical feather pigmentation during the juvenile phase for a member of this genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-billed crow</span> Species of bird

The white-billed crow is a member of the crow family found on the Solomon Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispaniolan palm crow</span> Species of bird

The Hispaniolan palm crow is a relatively small corvid endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola where it was formerly very frequent, but is now reduced in population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chihuahuan raven</span> Species of bird

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somali crow</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban palm crow</span> Species of bird

The Cuban palm crow is a relatively small corvid that is endemic to the Caribbean island of Cuba.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2020). "Corvus imparatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22705996A137723972. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22705996A137723972.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "Corvus imparatus". NatureServe Explorer. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  3. Sibley, David Allen (2000). The Sibley Guide to Birds . New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p.  361. ISBN   978-0-679-45122-8.
  4. Griggs, Jack L. (1997). American Bird Conservancy's Field Guide to All the Birds of North America . New York: HarperPerennial. ISBN   0-06-273028-2.