hooded crow

The hooded crow was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae; he gave it the binomial name Corvus cornix.{{cite book |last=Linnaeus |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Linnaeus |language=la |title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata |volume=v.1 |publisher=Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii). |date=1758 |page=105 |quote=C. cineraſ cens, caplte gula alis caudaque nigris. |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/10277#page/123/mode/1up}} Linnaeus specified the type locality as "Europa", but this was restricted to Sweden by the German ornithologist Ernst Hartert in 1903.{{ cite book | last=Hartert | first=Ernst | author-link=Ernst Hartert | year=1909 | title=Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna | volume=1 | language=German | location=Berlin | publisher=R. Friedländer und Sohn | page=9 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14029798 }}{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Greenway | editor2-first=James C. Jr | year=1962 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=15 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | pages=271–272 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14485644 }} The genus name Corvus is Latin for "raven" while the specific epithet cornix is Latin for "crow".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n119/mode/1up 119], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n118/mode/1up 118]}} The hooded crow was subsequently considered a subspecies of the carrion crow for many years,{{cite book |last=Vere Benson |first=S. |date=1972 |title=The Observer's Book of Birds |publisher=Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. |location=London |isbn= 978-0-7232-1513-4}} hence known as Corvus corone cornix, due to similarities in structure and habits.{{ cite book | last1=Svensson | first1=Lars | last2=Mullarney | first2=Killian | last3=Zetterström | first3=Dan | year=2009 | title=Collins Bird Guide | edition=2nd | location=London | publisher=HarperCollins | isbn=978-0-00-726814-6 | page=366 }}

The name hooded crow, first known from Scotland in the early 16th century, was established as the standard name by use in Robert Sibbald's Scotia Illustrata in 1684 and Thomas Pennant's British Zoology in 1776, and was formally adopted by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC) when it was split as a separate species from the carrion crow.{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2022 | title=Crows, mudnesters, birds-of-paradise | work=IOC World Bird List Version 12.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/crows/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=20 March 2022 }} It is locally known as a 'hoodie craw' or simply 'hoodie' in Scotland and as a grey crow in Northern Ireland.{{cite book |editor-last=Macafee |editor-first=CI |date=1996 |title=A Concise Ulster Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-863132-3}} Its status as a scarce winter visitor from Scandinavia in eastern England has led to a number of historical local names, including "Coatham crow" (from Coatham in North Yorkshire), "Royston crow" (from Royston in Hertfordshire), "Scremerston crow" (from Scremerston in Northumberland), "Danish crow"{{cn|date=May 2025}} and "winter crow". In Irish, it is called {{Lang|ga|caróg liath}} and in Welsh {{Lang|cy|brân lwyd}}, or the "grey crow", as its name also means in Danish, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, and several Slavic languages. It is referred to as the "pied crow" ({{Lang|nl|bonte kraai}}) in Dutch and "fog crow" ({{Lang|de|Nebelkrähe}}) in German, and the "dolman crow" ({{Lang|de|dolmányos varjú}}) in Hungarian.{{cite journal |last1=Sándor |first1=Faragó |last2=Gyula |first2=Kovács |last3=Pál |first3=Hajas Péter |title=MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR HOODED CROW (Corvus cornix) IN HUNGARY |journal=Hungarian Small Game Bulletin |date=2017 |volume=13 |pages=15-48 |doi=10.17243/mavk.2017.015 |url=https://real.mtak.hu/54130/1/MAvK13_02_Farago_Kovacs_Hajas.pdf}}{{cite web|title=Hooded Crow Corvus cornix |work= BTOWeb BirdFacts |publisher=British Trust for Ornithology |url=https://www.bto.org/learn/about-birds/birdfacts/hooded-crow |access-date=2025-05-23}}

File:Corvus cornix capellanus, Baghdad, Iraq 1.jpg

Four subspecies of hooded crow are now accepted; previously, all were considered subspecies of Corvus corone.{{ cite book | editor-last1=Dickinson | editor-first1=E.C. | editor1-link=Edward C. Dickinson | editor-last2=Remsen | editor-first2=J.V. Jr. | editor2-link=James Van Remsen, Jr. | year=2013 | title=The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World | volume=1: Non-passerines | edition=4th | location=Eastbourne, UK | publisher=Aves Press | isbn=978-0-9568611-0-8 | page=236 }} A fifth subspecies, C. c. sardonius (Kleinschmidt, 1903) has been listed, although it has been alternately partitioned between C. c. sharpii (most populations), C. c. cornix (Corsican population), and the Middle Eastern C. c. pallescens.{{cn|date=April 2022}}

• C. c. cornix Linnaeus, 1758 – the nominate subspecies, occurs in Britain, Ireland and the rest of Europe south to Corsica.{{cite journal |last1=Parkin |first1=David T. |last2=Collinson |first2=Martin |last3=Helbig |first3=Andreas J. |last4=Knox |first4=Alan G. |last5=Sangster |first5=George |title=The taxonomic status of Carrion and Hooded Crows |journal=British Birds |date=2003 |volume=96 |issue=6 |pages=274-290}}
• C. c. sharpii Oates, 1889 – named after the English zoologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe. This is a paler grey form found from western Siberia through to the Caucasus region and Iran.{{cite book |last=Goodwin |first=D. |date=1983 |title=Crows of the World |publisher=Queensland University Press, St Lucia, Qld |isbn=978-0-7022-1015-0}}
• C. c. pallescens (Madarász, 1904) – the smallest subspecies, found in Turkey and Egypt, and is a paler form as its name suggests.
• C. c. capellanus Sclater, PL, 1877 – sometimes considered a separate species. This distinctive form occurs in Iraq and southwestern Iran. It has very pale grey plumage, which looks almost white from a distance. It is possibly distinct enough to be considered a separate species.Madge, Steve & Burn, Hilary (1994): Crows and jays: a guide to the crows, jays and magpies of the world. A&C Black, London. {{ISBN|0-7136-3999-7}}

File:Distribution of carrion and hooded crows across Europe.jpg and hooded crows on either side of a contact zone (white line) separating the two species]] The hooded crow (Corvus cornix) and carrion crow (Corvus corone) are two closely related species whose geographical distribution across Europe is illustrated in the accompanying diagram. It is believed that this distribution might have resulted from the glaciation cycles during the Pleistocene, which caused the parent population to split into isolates which subsequently re-expanded their ranges when the climate warmed causing secondary contact.{{cite journal |last=de Knijf |first=Peter |date= 2014 |title=How carrion and hooded crows defeat Linnaeus's curse |journal=Science |volume=344 |issue=6190 |pages=1345–1346 |doi=10.1126/science.1255744 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=24948724|bibcode=2014Sci...344.1345D |s2cid=207790306 }} Jelmer Poelstra and coworkers sequenced almost the entire genomes of both species in populations at varying distances from the contact zone to find that the two species were nearly genetically identical, both in their DNA and in its expression (in the form of mRNA), except for the lack of expression of a small portion (<0.28%) of the genome (situated on avian chromosome 18) in the hooded crow, which imparts the lighter plumage colouration on its torso. Thus the two species can hybridise viably, and regularly do so at the contact zone, but the all-black carrion crows on the one side of the contact zone mate almost exclusively with other all-black carrion crows, while the same occurs among the hooded crows on the other side of the contact zone. This is an example of assortative mating. They concluded that it was only the outward appearance of the two species that inhibits hybridisation.

File:Flying Crow.jpg, Iran]]

Except for the head, throat, wings, tail, and thigh feathers, which are black and mostly glossy, the plumage of the hooded crow is ash-grey, with the dark shafts giving it a streaky appearance. The bill and legs are black; the iris dark brown. Only one moult occurs, in autumn, as in other crow species. Male hooded crows tend to be larger than females, although the two sexes are otherwise similar in appearance. Their flight is slow, heavy and usually straight.{{cn|date=April 2022}} Their length varies from {{convert|48|to|52|cm|in|abbr=on}}. When first hatched, the young are much blacker than the parents. Juveniles have duller plumage with bluish or greyish eyes, and initially possess a red mouth. The wingspan is {{convert|105|cm|in|abbr=on}} and weight is on average 510 g.

The hooded crow, with its contrasted greys and blacks, is visually distinct from both the carrion crow and the rook, but the {{Audio|Corvus cornix.ogg|kraa}} call notes of the hooded and carrion crows are almost indistinguishable.

File:کلاغ پارک لاله.jpg, Iran]]

File:Leucistic Hooded Crow at Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia 338022114.jpg hooded crow, in Russia]]

The hooded crow breeds in northern and eastern Europe, and closely allied forms inhabit southern Europe and western Asia. Fertile hybrids are produced where its range meets with that of the carrion crow, as in northern Britain, Germany, Denmark, northern Italy, and Siberia. However, the hybrids are less well-adapted than purebred birds and the hybrid zone remains consistently narrow; this was one of the main reasons behind its reclassification as a distinct species from the carrion crow.Jones, Steve (1999): Almost Like A Whale: The Origin Of Species Updated. Doubleday, Garden City. {{ISBN|978-0-385-40985-8}}

In the British Isles, the hooded crow breeds regularly in northern and western Scotland, the Isle of Man, and the Scottish Islands; it also breeds throughout Ireland. In autumn, some migratory birds arrive on the east coast of Britain. In the past, this was a more common visitor.{{cite book |last1=Cocker |first1=Mark |last2=Mabey |first2=Richard |title=Birds Britannica |date=2005 |location=London |publisher=Chatto & Windus |isbn=978-0-7011-6907-7 |pages=418–425}}

File:Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix) cleans rain gutter.webm, probably for food, in Berlin]]

File:Kråka (Corvus corone) - Ystad-2023.jpg]]

The hooded crow is omnivorous, with a diet similar to that of the carrion crow, and is a constant scavenger. It drops molluscs and crabs to break them after the manner of the carrion crow, to the point that an old Scottish name for empty sea urchin shells was "crow's cups". On coastal cliffs, the eggs of gulls, cormorants, and other birds are stolen when their owners are absent, and hooded crows will enter the burrows of puffins to steal eggs. It will also feed on small mammals, scraps, smaller birds, and carrion. The hooded crow often hides food to feed on later, especially meat, nuts, and any insects that may be present on these, in places such as rain gutters, flower pots, or in the earth under bushes. Other crows will often watch a crow that hides food and then search the hiding place later when the first crow has left.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

Nesting occurs later in colder regions; mid-May to mid-June in northwest Russia, Shetland, and the Faroe Islands, and late February in the Persian Gulf region. In warmer parts of Europe, the clutch is laid in April.{{cite book |last=Evans |first=G |date=1972 |title=The Observer's Book of Birds' Eggs |publisher=Warne |location=London |isbn=978-0-7232-0060-4 |pages=18}} The bulky stick nest is normally placed in a tall tree, but cliff ledges, old buildings, and pylons may be used. Nests are occasionally placed on or near the ground. The nest resembles that of the carrion crow, but on the coast, seaweed is often interwoven in the structure, and animal bones and wire are also frequently incorporated. The four to six brown-speckled blue eggs are {{convert|4.3|x|3.0|cm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} in size and weigh {{convert|19.8|g|oz|frac=32|abbr=on}}, of which 6% is shell. The altricial young are incubated for 17–19 days by the female alone, that is fed by the male. They fledge after 32 to 36 days. Incubating females have been reported to obtain most of their own food and later that for their young.{{cite journal|last=Yom-Tov |first=Yoram |date=June 1974 |title=The effect of food and predation on breeding density and success, clutch size and laying date of the crow (Corvus corone L.) |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=43 |number=2 |pages=479–498 |doi=10.2307/3378|jstor=3378|bibcode=1974JAnEc..43..479Y }}

The typical lifespan is unknown, but that of the carrion crow is four years.{{cite web |title=Carrion Crow Corvus corone [Linnaeus, 1758] |work= BTOWeb BirdFacts |publisher=British Trust for Ornithology |url=http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob15671.htm |access-date=2008-02-04}} The maximum recorded age for a hooded crow is 16 years, and 9 months.

This species is a secondary host of the parasitic great spotted cuckoo, the European magpie being the preferred host. However, in areas where the latter species is absent, such as Israel and Egypt, the hooded crow becomes the normal corvid host.Snow & Perrins (1998) 873–4

This species, like its relative, is regularly killed by farmers and on grouse estates. In County Cork, Ireland, the county's gun clubs shot over 23,000 hooded crows in two years in the early 1980s. Since 1981, they have been protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, meaning it is illegal to knowingly kill, injure, or capture them.{{Cite web |title=Hooded Crow Bird Facts (Corvus cornix) |url=https://birdfact.com/birds/hooded-crow |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=Birdfact |language=en}}

File:Corvus corone cornix MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.175.4.jpg|Eggs of Corvus corone cornix - MHNT

File:Crow Nest Moscow.jpg|Nest with eggs in urban environment, Moscow

File:Crow babies 10 days old.jpg|Ten-day-old chicks

File:Kråka - Corvus cornix.jpg|Juvenile hooded crows in Sweden

The IUCN Red List does not distinguish the hooded crow from the carrion crow, but the two species together have an extensive range, estimated at {{convert|10|e6km2|e6sqmi|0|abbr=off}}, and a large population, including an estimated 14 to 34 million individuals in Europe alone. They are not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations), so are evaluated as least concern.{{cite iucn|author=BirdLife International|year=2004|page=e.T22706016A26497956|title=Corvus corone|access-date=5 May 2006}} The carrion crow and hooded crow hybrid zone is slowly spreading northwest, but the hooded crow has on the order of three million territories in just Europe (excluding Russia).{{cite book |editor1-last=Snow |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Perrins |editor2-first=Christopher M. |date=1998 |title=The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition (2 volumes) |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-854099-1 |pages=1478–1480}} This movement is also attested to by the fact that in April 2020 the hooded crow was redlisted in Sweden, where the Species Information Centre does distinguish between hooded and carrion crow.{{Cite web|url=https://www.artdatabanken.se/aktuellt/artdatabankens-nyheter/fagelarter-pa-rodlistan/|title = Fågelarter på rödlistan | SLU Artdatabanken}}

In Irish folklore, the bird appears on the shoulder of the dying Cú Chulainn,{{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Edward A. |orig-year=1958 |date=1970 |title=The Folklore of Birds |publisher=Dover |isbn=978-0-486-22145-8 |page=81}} and could also be a manifestation of the Morrígan, the wife of Tethra, or the Cailleach.Armstrong, p. 83 This idea has persisted, and the hooded crow is associated with fairies in the Scottish highlands and Ireland; in the 18th century, Scottish shepherds would make offerings to them to keep them from attacking sheep.{{cite book |last=Ingersoll |first=Ernest |date=1923 |title=Birds in legend, fable and folklore |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/birdsinlegendfab00inge/page/165 165] |url=https://archive.org/details/birdsinlegendfab00inge |access-date=2009-08-08}} In Faroese folklore, a maiden would go out on Candlemas morn and throw a stone, then a bone, then a clump of turf at a hooded crow – if it flew over the sea, her husband would be a foreigner; if it landed on a farm or house, she would marry a man from there, but if it stayed put, she would remain unmarried.{{cite book |date=1970 |orig-year=1958 |last=Armstrong |first=Edward A. |title=The Folklore of Birds |publisher=Dover |isbn=978-0-486-22145-8 |page=74}}

The old name of Royston crow originates from the days when this bird was a common winter visitor to southern England, with the sheep fields around Royston, Hertfordshire providing carcasses on which the birds could feed. The local newspaper, founded in 1855, is called The Royston Crow, and the hooded crow also features on the town's coat of arms.{{cite web|publisher=Civic Heraldry of England and Wales|url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/east_of_england.html#royston%20tc|title=Royston Town Council (Herts)}}

The hooded crow is one of the 37 Norwegian birds depicted in the Bird Room of the Royal Palace in Oslo.{{cite web |date=3 February 2007 |title=The Bird Room |work=The Norwegian Royal Family - Official Website |publisher=The Norwegian Royal Family |url=http://www.kongehuset.no/c28586/artikkel/vis.html?tid=29637 |access-date=2008-03-17}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons}}

{{Wikispecies|Corvus cornix}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120716224232/http://cyberbirding.uib.no/photo/c_cornix.php Cyberbirding: hooded crow pictures]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060928180828/http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/images/data/hooded_crow_18062002__ouessant_france.jpg Profile shot of bird]
• [http://www.skullsite.com/images/dbimages/large/corvuscornix_s.jpg Skull of hooded crow (without beak sheath)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060303080924/http://www.skullsite.com/images/dbimages/large/corvuscornix_s.jpg |date=2006-03-03 }}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=milHiN94luM Video of wild hooded crow in Warsaw trying to imitate human speech]
• [https://avibirds.com/hooded-crow/ Educational article with video about Hooded Crow]

{{Corvidae|2}}

{{Taxonbar |from=Q25405}}

Category:Corvus

Category:Crows

Category:Birds of Europe

Category:Birds of West Asia

Category:Birds described in 1758

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Category:Articles containing video clips

Category:Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN