Corvus orru

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. 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: The Bismarck crow (Corvus insularis) on the Bismarck Archipelago was formerly considered a subspecies. 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. The Torresian crow is a large corvid, about the same size (48–53 cm in length) as the Eurasian carrion crow but with a more robust bill and slightly longer legs. The plumage of the Torresian Crow is glossy black on the back and dull black on the breast with inconspicuous throat hackles. Its tail is broad and has a distinctive square-shaped tip. Its bill is dark grey and about the same length as the head. The legs and feet are a similar dark grey color with pink foot soles. The Torresian crow has the typical white iris of the other Australasian Corvus species with a fine, blue eye-ring. However, it can be distinguished from most except the little crow by the base of the head and neck feathers being white. The white feather bases are revealed when ruffled. Birds of this species characteristically shuffle their wings after alighting. Sexes are identical in their appearance; however, juveniles lack glossy dorsal feathers and have brown eyes, rather than white, up to about nine months of age. The Torresian crow is not to be confused with the Australian raven which has an almost identical appearance. Despite their visual similarities, the Australian raven and crow have very different and unique calls. The Torresian crow has an extensive distribution across Australia, Papua New Guinea in particular the Bismarck Archipelago and some islands in Indonesia, in particular the Moluccas. The range of the mainland Australian race C. orru ceciliae extends from the tropical north of Australia to as far south as Forster on the east coast of New South Wales and to between Geraldton and Norseman in South Western Australia. The Torresian crow occupies almost any habitat within its geographic range where there is a permanent source of water. The species is common in habitats such as tropical rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, open scrub, beaches, swamps, offshore islands. The Torresian crow is also well adapted to fringe habitats including farmland, towns and cities. On farms in much of Northern Australia, they are the most numerous bird species and are considered a pest by farmers, as they damage crops such as corn, peanuts, wheat and many kinds of fruit. Torresian crows are common in urban landscapes and many cities and towns in Australia support large populations. In the arid zones of central Australia, the species is sparsely distributed and confined to areas with permanent water.