Torresian Crow

About the Torresian Crow

The Torresian crow (Corvus orru), also called the Australian crow or Papuan crow, is a passerine bird in the crow family native to the north and west of Australia and nearby islands in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The species has a black plumage, beak and mouth with white irises. The base of the feathers on the head and neck are white. The Torresian crow is slightly larger with a more robust bill than the morphologically similar little crow.

Although widespread over northern Australia and some nearby islands, the common name "Torresian" refers to the Australian Shire of Torres. The Torresian crow was described by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850. The origin of the specific epithet orru is not known but may be derived from a Papuan name.

There are three subspecies: C. o. latirostris Meyer, AB, 1884 – east Lesser Sunda Islands C. o. orru Bonaparte, 1850 – Maluku Islands, New Guinea, D'Entrecasteaux Islands. and Louisiade Archipelago C. o. cecilae Mathews, 1912 – west, central and northern Australia

The Bismarck crow (Corvus insularis) on the Bismarck Archipelago was formerly considered a subspecies. In Central Australia southwest of Alice... Wikipedia →