Corneille à cou blanc

Corvus leucognaphalus

Une grande espèce omnivore qui occupe une large gamme d'habitats, y compris les champs agricoles, mais préfère les bois humides des hautes terres. Il apparaît entièrement noir ; les plumes blanches du cou, qui lui donnent son nom, ne sont visibles que pendant la parade nuptiale. Notez ses yeux rouge vif. La seule autre grande espèce noire partageant son aire de répartition est le Corbeau palmiste, qui a les yeux sombres et est un peu plus petit. De plus, le Corbeau à cou blanc a un bec relativement long et pointu avec un plumage limité sur le dessus par rapport à celui du Corbeau palmiste. Les vocalisations de cette espèce sont remarquablement perroquetées et plutôt différentes de celles des autres corbeaux. Ses cris incluent un « wreh » montant, roulé et prolongé, généralement émis en séries, ainsi qu'une variété de sons glougloutants ou de babillements perçants.

Identification

A stocky bird, it is the largest Caribbean corvid, measuring 42–46 centimetres or 17–18 inches in length. The overall appearance is black, with a bluish-purple gloss in good light; despite the name, the neck typically appears entirely black, as the namesake white is restricted to the bases of the neck feathers, rarely visible in the field. The black bill is long and deep, and curves gently downward to the tip, giving the bird a large headed appearance. The nasal bristles do not quite cover the nostrils, unlike the majority of species in this genus. There is a patch of dark grey bare skin behind the eye, and the base of the lower mandible has a bare strip of the same coloured skin. The iris is a distinctive crimson red in colour, and the legs and feet are black. It often flies high over the forest canopy and soars on thermals, unlike the palm crow, which rarely, if ever, soars.

Taxonomie

Two other species, the Cuban crow (C. nasicus) and the Jamaican crow (C. jamaicensis), appear to be very closely related to it, sharing several key morphological features. The fourth species from this region, the palm crow (C. palmarum), would appear to be a later arrival (at least in evolutionary terms) and shows similarities to the fish crow (C. ossifragus) of North America and two Mexican species, despite it being sympatric with the white-necked crow on Hispaniola.

Nom scientifique
Corvus leucognaphalus
Autorité
Daudin, 1800
Ordre
Passériformes
Famille
Corvidés
Genre
Corvus

Répartition et habitat

It inhabits both lowland and mountain forest, and tolerates degraded areas used for agriculture.

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

It has been designated as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN, due to having a severely fragmented population which is mostly decreasing, and several other threats (mainly hunting for both food and as a crop pest, destruction of habitat for agriculture and timber, and attacks on nest sites by the recently arrived pearly-eyed thrasher (Margarops fuscatus)); the same factors that led to its extirpation on Puerto Rico seem to affect the remaining populations on Hispaniola and surrounding islands.

Tendance de la population
declining

Photos

Distribution

Chants d'Oiseaux

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