Cape Crow
Corvus capensis
The Cape Crow (Corvus capensis) is a uncommon crows, jays, and magpi found in 13 countries, weighing about 553 g. 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.
About the Cape Crow
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.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Voice: The voice is described as a krrah.....krrah.....krrah or a quicker kah-kah-kah. It also makes very loud, liquid bubbling sounds that carry quite a distance; it also gives throaty chuckles. Some evidence indicates that vocal mimicry is practised, too.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Cape Crow can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Cape Crow?
- Voice: The voice is described as a krrah.....krrah.....krrah or a quicker kah-kah-kah. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Cape Crow?
- The Cape Crow is a large sized bird weighing about 553 g.
- Where can you see a Cape Crow?
- The Cape Crow occurs in 13 countries, including South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Botswana.
- What birds look similar to a Cape Crow?
- The Cape Crow is most easily confused with the White-necked Raven, the Chihuahuan Raven and the Forest Raven.
- Is the Cape Crow endangered?
- The Cape Crow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Cape Crow for real
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