Pied Crow: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe, Africa and North America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Alex R · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Corvus albus
- Family
- Crows, Jays, and Magpies
- Size
- About 48 cm
- Habitat
- Open country, towns and roadsides
- Found in
- Europe, Africa and North America
The key marks
Black crow with a broad white collar and white breast, and a black head, wings and tail. Hooded Crow has a pale grey body and black head, wings and tail, so it is grey where Pied Crow is white.
Voice
A deep, hoarse 'kaah' or 'kraa'.
Good to know
It is common around towns and rubbish dumps, taking carrion, scraps, insects and eggs.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Hooded Crow. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open country, towns and roadsides. It is especially common in Madagascar. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.