Graeme Chapman - natural history photographer - ornithologist

Australian Birds

Torresian Crow
Corvus orru
(Viewing 4 of 16 photos)

Click to listen to sound samples Torresian Crows are birds of Australia's "northern half", extending south to around Newcastle and occasionally closer to Sydney on the east coast and to near Carnarvon in W.A. Further inland they range south to near Norseman in W.A. and since the advent of irrigation and cotton farming in northern N.S.W., breeding birds now occur at Narrabri. In Brisbane, Cairns and Darwin Torresian Crows are the only corvid - in Brisbane in particular, they have become commensal and are regarded as a nuisance because of the noise generated by roosting flocks. Although essentially a "tropical" species, they have become adapted to arid inland Australia, mainly in places where there is permanent water. Over a large area of Queensland they occur alongside Australian Ravens (mainly west of the Great Divide) but these two species are easily separated on call. In much of the arid zone and north-western Australia, Little Crows also occur and apart from differences in calls, Torresian Crows and Little Crows are not easy to separate. Certainly size is not a reliable guide. In parts of NE Qld. (such as near Charters Towers) some very small Torresian Crows occur and these give rise occasionally to incorrect reports of Little Crows well out of their known haunts. On the Barkly Tableland there are Torresian Crows with a small body but a large bill that are known to breed after the wet season.

A quick check - to tell a crow from a raven look at the bases of their body feathers, see pics 692211 & 692212.


Photo: 692201

692201 ... Torresian Crow, adult.

Photo: 692202

692202 ... Torresian Crow, Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) N.T.

Photo: 692204

692204 ... Their inland distribution is patchy and dependent on the presence of permanent water.

Photo: 692205

692205 ... Torresian Crow


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