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Information about Torresian Crow

Torresian Crow

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Corvidae
Genus:Corvus
Species:C. orru
Binomial name
Corvus orru
Bonaparte, 1850

The Torresian Crow (Corvus orru), also occasionally called the Australian Crow or Papuan Crow in those respective countries, is an Australasian member of the crow genus. An all black crow, it is found in the north and west of Australia and islands to the north.

Taxonomy

The Torresian Crow was described by ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850,[1] with the Australian subspecies ceciliae described by Mathews in 1912.[2] In Central Australia southwest of Alice Springs, the Pitjantjatjara term for race ceciliae is kaanka. The term wati kaanka refers to a light-fingered man or someone who hangs around suspiciously.[3]

Description

The Torresian Crow is about the same size (50-55 cm in length) as the Eurasian Carrion Crow but with a more robust bill and slightly longer legs. It has the typical white iris of the other Australasian Corvus species but can be distinguished from most (except the Little Crow) by the base of the head and neck feathers being snow white (revealed when blown by a strong wind). It also shuffles its wings after alighting.

Distribution and habitat

The range of the mainland Australian race C. orru ceciliae occupies the tropical north of Australia as far south as Brisbane on the east coast where the species seems to be adjusting well to a city life. Over much of this range, it is simple to distinguish from other species, as it is the only corvid found in northern Australia.

The other three races occur on various islands to the north: C. orru orru (the nominate form from Papua New Guinea and the Moluccas), C. orru insularis from New Britain and nearby islands and lastly C. orru latirostris of Tenimber and Barbar Islands.

It is a little more wary than the southern corvids and seems to recognize the significance of anyone carrying a gun and quickly makes itself conspicuous by its absence.

Behavior

Diet

A typical crow in that it will take just about anything. It has been seen taking stranded fish on the seashore, carrion, human food scraps, fruit and insects. Adaptable and intelligent like its North American, European, African and Asian relatives, it has learned how to kill and eat the introduced poisonous Cane Toad without ingesting the poison by flipping it onto its back and delivering a lethal blow with its powerful bill.

Nesting

Two to four eggs in large stick nest high in a tree.

Voice

Quite different from the Australian Raven. A nasal "uk-uk-uk-uk-uk" or sometimes an "ok-ok-ok-ok".

Sound Link

References

1. ^ Bonaparte, C.L. (1850). Conspectus Generum Avium. Tom. I. Lugduni, Batavorum: E.J. Brill 543 pp. [385]
2. ^ Mathews, G.M. (1912). A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novit. Zool. 18: 171-455 [442]
3. ^ Cliff Goddard (1992). Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara To English Dictionary, 2, Alice Springs, Northern Territory: Institute for Aboriginal Development, 26. ISBN 0-949659-64-9. 

External links

conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor (prior to 2001) Conservation Dependent.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Passeriformes
Linnaeus, 1758

Suborders
  • Acanthisitti
  • Tyranni
  • Passeri


A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. More than half of all species of bird are passerines.
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Corvidae
Vigors, 1825

Genera

many, see article text

Corvidae is a family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies and nutcrackers (Clayton and Emery 2005, [1] ).
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Corvus
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

See text.
The true crows are large passerine birds that comprise the genus Corvus. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-sized jackdaws (Eurasian and Daurian) to the Common Raven of the
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Charles Lucien (Carlo) Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (May 24, 1803 – July 29, 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithologist. He was the son of Lucien Bonaparte and nephew of Emperor Napoleon.
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Corvus
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

See text.
The true crows are large passerine birds that comprise the genus Corvus. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-sized jackdaws (Eurasian and Daurian) to the Common Raven of the
..... Click the link for more information.
Charles Lucien (Carlo) Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (May 24, 1803 – July 29, 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithologist. He was the son of Lucien Bonaparte and nephew of Emperor Napoleon.
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Central Australia is a term used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians.
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Alice Springs
Northern Territory

Population:
• Density: 26,486 (2005)
178/km

Elevation: 576 m

Area: 149  km

Time zone: ()


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Pitjantjatjara is a dialect of the Western Desert Language traditionally spoken by the Pitjantjatjara people of Central Australia. It is mutually intelligible with other varieties of the Western Desert language and is particularly closely related to Yankunytjatjara language.
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C. corone

Binomial name
Corvus corone
Linnaeus, 1758

Carrion Crow range


The Carrion Crow (Corvus corone
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Australasia is a term variably used to describe a region of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes (1756).
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Corvus
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

See text.
The true crows are large passerine birds that comprise the genus Corvus. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-sized jackdaws (Eurasian and Daurian) to the Common Raven of the
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C. bennetti

Binomial name
Corvus bennetti
North, 1901



The Little Crow (Corvus bennetti
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Brisbane
Queensland

Location of Brisbane within Australia

Population:
• Density: 1,848,000(Dec 2006) (3rd)
353.8/km

Established: 1824

Area: 4673.
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Urbanization or Urbanisation (see difference in spelling) means the removal of the rural characteristics of a town or area, a process associated with the development of civilisation.
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Motto
Unity in diversity[1]
Anthem
O Arise, All You Sons[2]


Capital Port Moresby

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Maluku Islands<nowiki />

Maluku Islands location

Geography <nowiki/>
Location South East Asia
Coordinates <nowiki /> <nowiki />

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New Britain is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea, separated from the island of New Guinea by Dampier Strait. The main towns are Rabaul/Kokopo and Kimbe.

Geography

New Britain extends from 148º to 152º E. longitude and from 4º to 7º S.
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North America is a continent [1] in the Earth's northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west
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Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
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Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area.
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Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area (or 29.4% of its land area) and, with almost 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population.
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B. marinus

Binomial name
Bufo marinus
Linnaeus, 1758

Distribution of the Cane Toad. Native distribution in blue, introduced in red.

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