- Corvus palmarum
Identification
34 - 38cm.
- Black plumage with purble-blue iridescence
- Brown iris
- Short, stout, sharp-pointed bill
- Gape ending in front of eye
- Well-developed nasal bristles covering nostrils
Sexes similar, males larger than females. Juveniles are duller than adults.
Similar Species
Compare with the larger White-necked Crow.
Distribution
Dominican Republic, Haiti: Formerly abundant and still not uncommon.
Taxonomy
It was formerly considered conspecific with Cuban Palm-Crow.
Appears to be closely related to the Fish Crow of the eastern seaboard of the United States and also two smaller species, the Tamaulipas Crow and Sinaloa Crow of Mexico and forms a species group with them.
Subspecies
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Mountain pine forests, arid brush and hill country. Also in lowland cultivation with some palm trees. Often between 1300 - 1900 m but registered from sea level to 3000 m asl.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on invertebrates (beetles, caterpillars, cicadas, snails), lizards and fruits. Usually foraging in pairs or small groups on the ground.
Breeding
Presumably a solitary nester, season mostly March to May. The nest is made of sticks and placed among tree branches or in a palm tree. Lays 4 eggs. Breeding habits poorly known.
Movements
No information about movements.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Kirwan, GM, A Levesque, M Oberle, and CJ Sharpe. 2019. Birds of the West Indies. (Lynx and Birdlife International Field Guides) Barcalona, Lynx Editions. ISBN 978-84-16728-17-6
- Kirwan, G. M., J. Marzluff, and C. J. Sharpe (2023). Hispaniolan Palm-Crow (Corvus palmarum), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.palcro1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Hispaniolan Palm-Crow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Hispaniolan_Palm-Crow
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
