White-necked Crow

About the White-necked Crow

The white-necked crow (Corvus leucognaphalus) is the largest of the four Caribbean corvids. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola (split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic); it was formerly also extant on Puerto Rico and Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, but has been extirpated from both islands due to considerable forest clearance and hunting for meat.

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 ancestor of the fourth and fifth species from this region, the Hispaniolan (C. palmarum) and Cuban palm crows (C. minutus), would appear to be a later arrival (at least in evolutionary terms); both species show more similarities to the fish crow (C. ossifragus) of mainland North America and two Mexican species. This is despite C. palmarum being sympatric with the white-necked crow on Hispaniola, indicating two distinct arrivals of crows onto the island, and a resulting niche differentiation, similar to C. nasicus and the Cuban palm crow (Corvus minutus) on Cuba.

A stocky bird, it is the largest Caribbean... Wikipedia →