Carrion crow on the promenade at North Shields, England
From Wikipedia
The carrion crow (Corvus corone) is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae, native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic.
The carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone. The binomial name is derived from the Latin corvus, “raven”, and Greek κορώνη korōnē, “crow”.
The hooded crow (Corvus cornix), formerly regarded as a subspecies, has been split off as a separate species, and there is some discussion whether the eastern carrion crow (C. c. orientalis) is distinct enough to warrant specific status; the two taxa are well separated, and it has been proposed they could have evolved independently in the wetter, maritime regions at the opposite ends of the Eurasian landmass.
Along with the hooded crow, the carrion crow occupies a similar ecological niche in Eurasia to the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) in North America. The two species look very similar to one another, but can be differentiated by size, as the carrion crow is larger and of a stockier build compared to the American crow.
Adult male carrion crow moulting at the Jardin des Plantes of Paris
The plumage of the carrion crow is black with a green or purple sheen, much greener than the gloss of the rook (Corvus frugilegus). The bill, legs and feet are also black. It can be distinguished from the common raven by its size of around 48–52 centimetres (19–20 in) in length as compared to an average of 63 centimetres (25 inches) for ravens, and from the hooded crow by its black plumage. The carrion crow has a wingspan of 84–100 centimetres (33–39 in) and weighs 400–600 grams (14 oz – 1 lb 5 oz).
Juvenile carrion crows can be identified by their brownish plumage and blue eyes, both of which darken to black and brown as the crow grows older.
Image details
Date: 6 May 2023
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Tamron 70.0-300.0 mm f/4.0-5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
Aperture: ƒ/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/500s
ISO: 500
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International