Theropod Thursday 34: two African corvids

I love corvids, I am fascinated by them. There, I admitted it. Here’s two more, both from Africa and both in a black&white colour scheme.

White-necked raven (Corvus albicollis). Note the strongly curved and thick beak. I made very sure I kept my and my children’s finders clear of the wire mesh.

The White-necked raven is quite an impressive bird, and very obviously a raven – a stout, large and strong bird. it is smaller than the European  Common raven (C. corax), but you have to either know our native species fairly well, or see them side-by-side to notice. It is, simply said, too sturdy-looking and big to be a “crow” in the widest sense.

In contrast, the Pied crow (Corvus albus) is pretty much of the size of the European Rook, Carrion crow and Hooded crow.

However, looking closely you can see that the legs are a bit longer, the beak a bit bigger, and the tail and wings a bit longer. Half raven, half crow – and is anyone here surprised that there is no black/white distinction between them?

All images taken at Zoo Berlin