Corvids

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek apheles (‘naïve’, but in this connection translated as ‘simple’) and kome (‘well-tended hair’), given in allusion to the lack of stripes or bands on these birds, compared to other jays.

 

This bird was once lumped with 3 other species, collectively simply called the scrub jay. Then two populations were split to form separate species, the Florida scrub jay (A. coerulescens), which lives in Florida, and the island scrub jay (A. insularis), which is confined to Santa Cruz island off the Californian coast. The remaining populations were now called western scrub jay. Later, the inland populations were split to form a new species, Woodhouse’s scrub jay (A. woodhouseii), whereas the coastal populations were named California scrub jay.

 

 

The Mexican jay is distributed from eastern Arizona and western New Mexico southwards along the Sierra Madre Occidental, almost to Mexico City, and thence northwards along the Sierra Madre Oriental to the Chisos Mountains in southern Texas.

The specific name honours a German traveller, named Wollweber, who collected birds in Mexico in the 1840s for the Darmstadt Museum in Germany. Apart from that we know nothing about him, as the archives of the Darmstadt Museum were destroyed during World War II.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This noisy bird often travels about in flocks. The specific name is Portuguese, like the generic name meaning ‘beautiful’. It is indeed a very pretty bird, with a prominent curved black-and-white crest on the crown, blue wings and upper tail, and a pure white underside with a thin dark-blue line, running from the nape across the upper breast.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized form of koloios, the Ancient Greek term for the jackdaw.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin moneta (‘coin’), thus named by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), allegedly because this bird often picks up coins and other shining items.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the common raven (below).

Previously, jackdaws were also placed in this genus. Following genetic research, they have been moved to a separate genus, Coloeus (above).

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin albus (‘white’) and collum (‘neck’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is a Latinized form of korax, the Ancient Greek term for raven. The English name derives from Old Norse hrafn, ultimately from Proto-Germanic khrabanas.

Due to its intelligent behaviour, the raven appears in numerous mythologies. In Norse mythology, the ravens Hugin (‘thought’) and Munin (‘memory’) were the servants of the supreme god Odin, bringing news to him from all over the world. The raven figured on banners of Norse kings like Cnut the Great and Harald Hardrada. The raven was also an important bird to the Celts. According to Irish mythology, the goddess Morrígan alighted on the hero Cú Chulainn’s shoulder in the form of a raven after his death. In Welsh mythology, the name of the god Bran Fendigaid (in English called ‘Bran the Blessed’) means ‘raven’, and the bird was his symbol.

Among a number of peoples in Siberia, north-eastern Asia, and North America, the raven was regarded as a creator god. To the Tlingit and Haida peoples of Pacific North America, it was also a trickster.

Genesis 8: 6-7 says, “So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark, which he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro, until the waters had dried up from the earth.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The carrion crow is all black, whereas the hooded crow is black with grey or white hind neck, wing covers, and belly.

In southern Iraq and south-western Iran, between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, the crows, subspecies capellanus, also known as the Mesopotamian crow or the Iraq pied crow, are almost pure white, where the other subspecies of the hooded crow are grey. Some authorities regard the Mesopotamian crow as a separate species, C. capellanus.

As it is extensively hunted in most of its distribution area, this crow is usually very wary of people, often fleeing at a considerable distance. In many cities, however, where hunting is banned, crows show little fear of people.

The specific name is a Latinized version of korone, the classical Greek word for crow. In Greek mythology, Korone was a young woman who was once walking by the seashore, where the sea-god Poseidon saw her and tried to seduce her. When his efforts failed, he attempted to rape her instead. Korone fled, crying for help, and Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, took pity on her and transformed her into a crow, thus making her able to flee from Poseidon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This bird is the largest of all passerines, to 70 cm long and weighing up to 1.5 kg. Its very large bill, to 9 cm long, which is laterally compressed and curved, is black with a white tip. The plumage is blackish with brownish neck and wings, and a large white patch on the nape.

It resembles the smaller white-necked raven (above), but its bill is much heavier, and the white patch is on the nape, not on the lower hind neck.

The specific name is derived from the Latin crassus (‘thick’ or ‘heavy’) and rostrum (‘bill’).

 

 

 

 

 

As early as 1749, in his book Carl Linnæi Skånska Resa, förrättad År 1749 (new ed. Wahlström & Widstrand 1975), the famous Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) writes: “Crows [Linnaeus means rooks] hacked up the meadow, so that many small tufts of grass were lying around, where larvae had been lying beneath their roots. Presumably, the birds had smelled them. I dug in the area where they had been plucking a lot, and at once I found many larvas Tipulæ [crane fly larvae]. When crows walk on our fields, everybody believes that they eat crops, but many times they obviously eat only those larvae that live on the roots of the crops, and, as a consequence, they are more beneficial than harmful.”

In his book Carl Linnæi Öländska och Gotländska Resa, förrättad År 1741 (new ed. Wahlström & Widstrand 1977), Linnaeus gives an interesting decription of how farmers on Öland caught rooks at their night roost: “(…) In the evening, some boys climb the trees, in which the rooks usually spend the night, causing the birds to use the neighbouring trees. After dark, the birds are scared out of these trees, to settle in their usual trees, where the boys grab them.”

Young rooks are much cherished as food, and lots of young are shot on the nests in spring.

During the last 30 to 40 years, many rooks have been moving from rural areas into towns and cities, where they are secure from hunters. However, they are also persecuted in many of these new breeding areas, as they are noisy and make a mess. As a result, the rook is diminishing in many areas.

This species has a very wide range, found in the entire Europe, except the northernmost parts of Scandinavia, Finland, and Russia, and thence in a broad belt across temperate areas of Asia to Korea, China, and Japan, southwards to the Mediterranean, Iran, Kashmir, and the extreme northern Indochina.

The specific name is derived from the Latin frux (‘crop’ or ‘fruit’) and lego (‘to gather’), thus ‘the one who gathers crops or fruit’, alluding to the often vegetarian diet of the rook. The English name refers to the harsh call of the bird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In its widest sense, including the two splits, this bird is found from Afghanistan and the entire Indian Subcontinent eastwards to south-eastern Siberia (Ussuriland) and Japan, and thence southwards through Southeast Asia and the Philippines to Indonesia. It lives in a wide variety of habitats, including forests, rocky areas, cultivated land, and along rivers. In the Himalaya, it is found up to an elevation of at least 3,000 m.

The large-billed crow is quite similar to the common raven (above), but, besides its smaller size, it may be identified by the slimmer bill and the steeper ‘forehead’.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek makros (‘long’ or ‘large’) and rhynkhos (‘bill’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This species is native from Syria and Jordan southwards through the entire Arabian Peninsula, and in north-eastern Africa, from the Nile valley southwards to South Sudan and Kenya, westwards to the Aïr Massif in Niger. It lives in deserts and other dry country, placing its nest in craggy areas.

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek rhipis (‘fan’) and oura (‘tail’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It resembles the common raven (above), but is slightly smaller and with a brownish tinge, especially on the neck. It mainly lives in oases and palm groves in desert areas.

The specific name is derived from the Latin rufus (‘rufous’) and collum (‘neck’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the last hundred years or so, this species has spread to many cities in Asia and Africa, arriving as ‘blind passenger’ on board ships. It is also found in a few coastal towns of Europe and North America.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘shining’, alluding to the bluish sheen of the plumage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kyanos (‘dark blue’) and kitta (‘jay’), alluding to their predominant colour.

 

The specific and common names commemorate German naturalist and explorer Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709-1746), born Stöhler, who participated in the Russian Great Northern Expedition (1733-1743), also known as the Second Kamchatka Expedition, led by Danish explorer Vitus Jonassen Bering (1681-1741). Steller is considered a pioneer of Alaskan natural history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek dendron (‘tree’), and kitta, which originally was the name of the jay (Garrulus glandarius), but also refers to various magpies.

 

It is rather similar to the widely distributed rufous treepie (below), but, as its name implies, its plumage is much greyer, the rufous colour being restricted to the undertail coverts.

In most areas, it is rather shy, but in Taiwan it has become accustomed to people, showing no fear at all. This behaviour has its disadvantages. I once observed a man killing a grey treepie, which he had caught in a mistnet.

The specific name refers to Taiwan, where the bird was described by Robert Swinhoe (1836-1877), who, in 1860, became the first European consular representative to Taiwan. He discovered many new species, and four mammals and 15 birds are named after him.

In those days, Taiwan was known as Formosa, a name dating back from 1542, when Portuguese sailors as the first Europeans sighted the island, dubbing it Ilha Formosa (‘beautiful island’).

Other photos, depicting this bird, may be seen on the pages Animals – Birds: Birds in Taiwan, and Animals: Urban animal life.

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek leukos (‘white’) and gaster (‘belly’).

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name means ‘wanderer’ in the Latin. It is not known what it refers to. A local name of this bird in India is taka chor (‘coin thief’), alluding to its habit of picking up shiny objects, similar to the Eurasian magpie (below).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The most important food item for these birds is seeds of various pines (Pinus), which they break open with their powerful bill. This fact is reflected by the generic name, which is derived from the Latin nuci (‘nut’) and frango (‘to break’).

When pine nuts are abundant, they make caches of surplus seeds, storing as many as 30,000 in a single season. They are able to remember the location of as many as about 70% of their stash, even when buried in snow. They often store the nuts far away from where they were collected, and are thus important in re-establishing forests in logged or burned areas. (Source: D.F. Tomback 2016, in Why birds matter: avian ecological function and ecosystem services, edited by Sekercioglu, Wenny & Whelan, University of Chicago Press)

In regions without pine trees, seeds of spruce (Picea) and hazel (Corylus) form an important part of the diet.

 

The plumage of this bird is quite variable, and as many as 9 subspecies have been described. In the Himalaya, 3 subspecies occur: multipunctata, by some recognized as a separate species, found in northern Kashmir, northern Pakistan, and eastern Afghanistan; hemispila, distributed from southern Kashmir eastwards to western Nepal; and macella, which lives from western Nepal eastwards to northern Myanmar and the Yunnan Province.

The specific name has the same meaning as the generic name, but is derived from Ancient Greek karyon (‘nut’) and kataseio (‘to shatter’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This bird was described by Captain Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) during the Lewis and Clark expedition 1803-1806. The first observation was done by Captain William Clark (1770-1838) in 1805 along the banks of the Salmon River, a tributary of the Columbia River – hence the specific name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name needs some explanation. In his work American ornithology; or, The natural history of birds inhabiting the United States, not given by Wilson (1825-1833), French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1803-1857) considered these jays allied to the nutcrackers (above). The name is derived from Ancient Greek perisoreuo (‘to bury beneath’), referring to the habit of nutcrackers of storing food underground (see above).

 

This bird is popularly known by several popular names, including whisky jack, which is a corruption of Wisakedjak, a benevolent trickster and cultural hero in Cree, Algonquin, and Menominee mythologies. Among the Tlingit people of north-western North America it is known as kooyéix or taatl’eeshdéi, meaning ‘camp robber’, alluding to its tameness.

 

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘unfortunate’. This strange name alludes to a former belief that to encounter this bird was a bad omen.

 

 

 

 

 

Following genetic research, some authorities have suggested that the former black-billed magpie should be split into a number of separate species:

Common magpie (P. pica), distributed from Europe through southern Siberia and Central Asia to north-eastern China, Ussuriland in south-eastern Siberia, and Chukotka in north-eastern Siberia.

Maghreb magpie (P. mauritanica), found in north-western Africa.

Asir magpie (P. asirensis), which is restricted to south-eastern Saudi Arabia.

Black-rumped magpie (P. bottanensis), which occurs in west-central China, eastern Tibet, and north-eastern Himalaya.

Oriental magpie (P. serica) of eastern and southern China, Korea, Taiwan, and northern Indochina.

Black-billed magpie (P. hudsonia), distributed from southern Alaska southwards through western Canada to south-western and central Unites States.

However, they are all very much alike, so why this split was made is a mystery to me, and I prefer to regards these magpies as subspecies of a single species.

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the magpie, whereas the word pie is of Indo-European origin, meaning ‘pointed’, in this case no doubt referring to the long, pointed tail of these birds. The prefix mag dates from the 16th Century, a short form of the name Margaret, which was a term used for women in general. The call of the bird was likened to the chattering of women, and so it was called mag-pie. (Source: etymonline.com/word/magpie)

 

As described above, some subspecies have been upgraded to separate species by some authorities.

Like the hooded crow, the magpie was formerly a shy bird, fleeing from people at a long distance. Today, however, it is a common breeding bird in cities, where, under normal circumstances, people do not constitute a danger to the birds.

In former days, it was believed that the magpie had a habit of picking up shiny objects, including silver spoons. This had the consequence that in European folklore it got a reputation for stealing, hence the old word ”thieving as a magpie”. Newer research has shown that this is nonsense. The magpie is very curious and often picks up objects, but it has absolutely no preference for shiny things.

In his book Carl Linnæi Skånska Resa, förrättad År 1749 (new ed. Wahlström & Widstrand 1975), the famous Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) mentions that people in the town of Skanör believed that if a magpie settled in the town for a longer period of time, a ship was going to founder.

The noisy and garrulous ways of the magpie appear in a passage in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, in which the babbling and bumptious daughters of Pieros dare to challenge the Muses in a song contest, which they, naturally, lose, causing them to hurl abuse at the winners. The leading Muse, Calliope, then says:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plumage varies geographically. Northern birds are dark brown on the upper parts, lighter brown on the underparts (hence the name of the bird), whereas southern birds are white-bellied, with white tips to the outer tail feathers. Intermediate forms occur around the Vera Cruz area in Mexico.

Adults have black bills, legs, and feet. It has a naked inflatable sac on the chest, which presumably regulates its body temperature, but it also produces strange clicking or hiccuping sounds, when the bird is calling.

Superficially, birds of southern populations resemble the common magpie (Pica pica), but are slightly smaller, with a shorter tail, but a larger bill.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Greek pyrrhos (‘flame-coloured’), from pyr (‘fire’), and korax (‘raven’), presumably alluding to the bright red bill of the red-billed chough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These birds feed mainly on large insects and other invertebrates, and on various fruits, but are also notorious plunderers of eggs and young from smaller birds’ nests.

The generic name is derived from the Greek oura (‘tail’), and kissa, which, in the form kitta, was the classical Greek name of the common jay (Garrulus glandarius), but in this connection means ‘magpie’. The term pie is of Indo-European origin, meaning ‘pointed’, referring to the long, pointed tail of these birds.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin caelum (‘sky’), and a diminutive suffix, thus ‘small sky’, i.e. having the colour of the sky, thus ‘sky-blue’.

Naturally, this iconic bird is widely represented in Taiwanese folk art. Some examples are shown on the page Culture: Folk art of Taiwan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin flavus (‘yellow’) and rostrum (‘bill’).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its food mainly consists of frogs, lizards, insects and other invertebrates, and to some degree it also eats fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has a very restricted distribution area, being confined to thorn acacia country in southern Ethiopia, near the town of Yabello. It usually feeds in small groups, eating mainly insects.

The generic name commemorates Italian zoologist Edoardo Zavattari (1883-1972) who was director of zoology at the Sapienza University in Rome 1935-1953. He supported fascism and anti-semitism on the basis of his ideas from biology, and he was among those who signed the Manifesto della razza, a racial manifesto from 1938, which lead to the anti-semitic laws in the Kingdom of Italy, stripping the Jews of Italian citizenship and governmental and professional positions.

The specific name was given in honour of German naturalist and ornithologist Erwin Friedrich Theodor Stresemann (1889-1972), who contributed to a later edition of the work Handbuch der Zoologie (first published 1863-1875), and was the editor of the Journal für Ornithologie. He also took an interest in poetry, philosophy, and linguistics, publishing a monograph on the Austronesian Paulohi language, based on studies made during his ornithological expedition to the Indonesian island Seram.