African Pied Crow
Scientific Name: Corvus albus
Native to central and southern Africa-from sub-Saharan plains down to the Cape of Good Hope-African pied crows are glossy black birds with white patches of feathers on their shoulders and chests. They are approximately the same size as American crows, and they grow to 18-19.6 inches in length and roughly a pound in weight.
Extremely intelligent animals, African pied crows are easily trained and can expertly mimic human speech. They live in large social groups in the wild, and they have also become popular pets.
Fun Facts:
- Using brain weight versus body size as a measure of intelligence, African pied crows have a brain size that is relative to chimpanzees.
- Crows mate for life, and they often work cooperatively to thwart predators like hawks and eagles.
- Many crows, including African pied crows, engage in a strange behavior called "anting." This behavior involves the birds sitting in anthills and allowing ants to crawl all over their bodies. Acid from the ants' mouths acts like a poison and prevents mites from biting the crows.
- Additionally, crows have developed a new way to open hard nutshells in city environments. By perching on power lines with the nuts in their mouths, crows are able to drop them onto the streets below. After cars have run over and smashed the shells, the crows fly down and quickly gather the soft pulp to eat.
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