Carrion Crow

About the Carrion Crow

The carrion crow (Corvus corone) is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae, native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic. Along with the hooded crow (Corvus cornix), the carrion crow occupies a similar ecological niche in Eurasia to the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) in North America. The two species look very similar to one another, but can be differentiated by size, as the carrion crow is larger and of a stockier build compared to the American crow.

The carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone. The binomial name is derived from the Latin corvus, "raven", and Greek κορώνη korōnē, "crow".

The hooded crow (Corvus cornix), formerly regarded as a subspecies, has been split off as a separate species, and some discussion has arisen as to whether the eastern carrion crow (C. c. orientalis) is distinct enough to warrant a separate specific status; the two taxa are well separated, as they could have evolved independently in the wetter, maritime regions at the opposite ends of the Eurasian landmass.

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