House Crow
Corvus splendens
House Crows possess exceptional intelligence; they can recognize individual human faces, solve complex puzzles, and remember who has treated them kindly or threatened them.
- Scientific name
- Corvus splendens
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Corvidae › Corvus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- urban
- Habitat
- Cities, towns, villages, agricultural land, and coastal ports.
- Diet
- Omnivorous scavenger feeding on human food waste, carrion, insects, small reptiles, eggs, and grain.
- Range
- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, East Africa, Middle East
- Size
- 40 cm in length, wingspan of 76-85 cm, weighing 250-350 grams.
- Lifespan
- 6 to 12 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- No major threats; occasionally targeted by pest control and culling programs in areas where they are invasive.
- Safe to approach?
- Generally harmless but highly defensive during their breeding season. If you walk near a nest, they may dive-bomb to protect their young. Keep a safe distance of at least 5-10 meters from nesting trees. If dive-bombed, protect your head with an umbrella or hat and walk away calmly. In the rare event of a scratch or bite, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and consult a medical professional to prevent infection.
The house crow ( Corvus splendens ), also known as the Indian, greynecked, Ceylon or Colombo crow , is a common bird of the crow family that is of Asian origin but now found in many parts of the world, where they arrived assisted by shipping. It is between the jackdaw and the carrion crow in size (40 cm (16 in) in length) but is slimmer than either. The forehead, crown, throat and upper breast are a richly glossed black, whilst
Photo: Miguel, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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