Hooded crow

Hooded crow
At the garden of Belvedere, Vienna
Croaking of hooded crow in Kyiv
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Corvus
Species:
C. cornix
Binomial name
Corvus cornix

The hooded crow (Corvus cornix), also called the scald-crow or hoodie,[1] is a Eurasian bird species in the genus Corvus. Widely distributed, it is 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.

The hooded crow is so similar in morphology and habits to the carrion crow (Corvus corone) that for many years they were considered by most authorities to be geographical races of one species. Hybridization observed where their ranges overlapped added weight to this view. However, since 2002, the hooded crow has been elevated to full species status after closer observation; the hybridisation was less than expected and hybrids had decreased vigour.[2][3] Within the hooded crow species, four subspecies are recognized.

  1. ^ Greenoak, F. (1979). All the Birds of the Air; the Names, Lore and Literature of British Birds. Book Club Associates, London.
  2. ^ Parkin, David T. (2003). "Birding and DNA: species for the new millennium". Bird Study. 50 (3): 223–242. Bibcode:2003BirdS..50..223P. doi:10.1080/00063650309461316.
  3. ^ Poelstra, J.W.; Vijay, N.; Bossu, C.M.; Lantz, H.; Ryll, B.; Müller, I.; Baglione, V.; Unneberg, P.; Wikelski, M.; Grabherr, M.G.; Wolf, J.B.W. (2014). "The genomic landscape underlying phenotypic integrity in the face of gene flow in crows". Science. 344 (6190): 1410–1414. Bibcode:2014Sci...344.1410P. doi:10.1126/science.1253226. PMID 24948738. S2CID 14431499.