Tamaulipas Crow
Corvus imparatus
Small glossy crow, common in northeast Mexico. Occurs in towns, villages, rubbish dumps, farmland, and semiopen areas with hedges and taller trees. Social and usually in flocks, at times of hundreds. Most likely to be confused with male Great-tailed Grackle, which has pale eyes and longer and keel-shaped tail (shed in late-summer molt). Chihuahuan Raven much larger, with much heavier bill and different voice. Calls of Tamaulipas Crow are low, froglike croaks.
Identification
It is a relatively small and sleek looking crow, 34–38 centimetres (13–15 in) in length. It has very glossy dark, bluish plumage, which appears soft and silky. The bill is quite slender and black, as are the legs and feet. The Chihuahuan raven, a much larger and very different bird, is the only crow it commonly occurs alongside.
Taxonomy
The Sinaloa crow (Corvus sinaloae) appears to be genetically extremely close to this bird and can be considered the western form of it though the voice is quite different, indeed a third species, the fish crow (Corvus ossifragus) of the southeastern United States appears to be very closely related to them also and the three may be considered a superspecies.
- Scientific name
- Corvus imparatus
- Authority
- Peters, JL, 1929
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Corvus
Range and habitat
Occurring in a relatively small area in northeastern Mexico, it inhabits near desert scrub and bushland and includes farms, small towns and villages in its range. It also occurs in more humid woodland in open areas but does not appear to be found in the higher mountains or along the seashore. It is a sociable bird often forming large flocks, moving together in close groups. Its northern range reaches Brownsville in southern Texas where it has been known to nest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Food would appear to be mainly insects taken on the ground though eggs and nestlings are taken in trees as well as many fruits and berries.<p>The nest is similar to the American crow but smaller and is built in a tree or large bush.<p>The voice of this crow is unusual and unlike most other species of the genus Corvus. It has a low croaking sound rather like a frog and a call that is described as a soft "gar-lik".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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Hose's Broadbill
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Uncommon and elusive green broadbill. Both sexes distinguished from other Bornean green broadbills by blue wash on belly; it is bright ultramarine in males and paler blue in females. Also note black “polka dots” on wings. Only found on Borneo, where it is restricted to hill and submontane mixed dipterocarp forest. Forages quietly for fruit in understory, often in pairs. Song is a dove-like ascending coo with a hiccupy beginning note.
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