Often simply called the “Hoodie,” Hooded Crows are officially called Corvus Cornix
Article and video about moorhens provided by Mark Barkan of Avibirds, a group dedicated to educating people about birds and helping them care for their feathered friends.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT HOODED CROWS
Lifespan: average lifespan unknown, but see below
Length: 48cm to 52cm (19 to 20 in)
Weight: 396g to 600g (14 to 21 oz)
Average wingspan: 84cm to 105cm (33 to 41 in)
Description:
The Hooded Crow, in comparison to the crow (Corvus Corax) and the black crow (Corvus Corone), is intermediate in size between the two. The chest and back are grey while wings, tail and head are black.
Distribution:
The Hooded Crow is common everywhere in Europe except Iceland
Lifespan:
The Hooded Crow is somewhat of an enigma, as the typical life span is not really known, but for contrast, the Carrion Crow lives for around 4 years on average.
But said that, the oldest recorded Hoodie has reached 16 years and 9 months. So even though the lifespan is a mystery, they can live to up to 16-17 years.
When it comes to nesting, the Hooded Crow tend to nest in colder regions, around mid-May to mid-June in Russia, Shetland and in late February even in the Persian Gulf region.
Habitat:
The Hooded Crow mostly occupies the Eastern and Northern Europe in countries such as the Baltic States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia and its Western equivalent the Carrion Crow, occupies countries such as the majority of the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Germany.
So the Hooded Crow can be seen as the “artic” brother to the Carrion Crow. Which could also explain the grey appearance of the Hoodie, as it would experience a lot more snow than the Carrion Crow.
Behaviour and diet:
The Hoodie is omnivorous and has a diet very similar to the Carrion Crow and something we are culturally quite familiar with, the Hoodie is a scavenger.
And it definitely gets quite creative, for example, the Hooded Crow picks up and drops molluscs and crabs to break their shells, so they could eat them. They also eat eggs of gulls, cormorants and any other birds they can get their claws on.
But they also eat simpler things, like nuts. And when it comes to nuts, the Hoodie likes to hide their food, like nuts or meats, to feed on it later. The Hoodie is monogamous with long-term bonds, both mates remaining together for the majority of the year. T
There have even been some communal breeding behaviour reports from Scotland. They are very protective of their habitats, showcasing aggression towards the threat.
Reproduction:
While not much is known about the exact details of the breeding process, the Hooded Crow is the secondary host for the great spotted cuckoo and the European magpie, but in countries like Egypt or Isreal, the Hooded Crow becomes a normal corvid host.
The Hooded Crow produces a single brood per season, laying 4 to 5 eggs and staying with them for incubation for 17 to 20 days, after hatching the fledgelings depend on the parents for 5 to 8 weeks in total, staying 1 to 2 extra weeks after gaining the ability to fly.
And just as with regular behaviour, the Hoodie breeds in solitary, but they can form loose colonies, with nests spaced up to 20 meters in distance.
When it comes to building the nest, both mates take part in the process, the males gathering the materials and the females working on the nest itself and shaping it in a span of one week. The nests are built from twigs and sticks, sometimes even adding animal bones for structural integrity or just simply as material.
These nests are usually built at the top of large trees and is the cause of the effect of a large group of crows leaving the woods in a single large batch, that you could observe all over Europe in public parks.
TRIVIA:
The Hooded Crow does not possess the ability to smell, so once it hides its food to keep it for later, it believes that it’s impossible to find it without the knowledge of its location, which puts an interesting perspective of how certain animals act based on their world perception.
The Hooded Crow has also been a part of human culture for quite a while. You can find it in Celtic culture, Egypt, Greece and pretty much everywhere around Europe.
Back in the day, the Hooded Crow was known as the Royston Crow, from the olden day visits to England during the winter season. The Hooded Crow has a large population all over Northern and Eastern Europe and is mostly a part of a day to day life of anyone living in Europe.
Keep an eye out for future articles in the birds’ section within wildlife articles.
Image credit:
Erik Karits from Pixabay