page_title: White-necked crow
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: White-necked crow / Description
caption_attribution_description: Laguna de Oviedo
context_page_description: The white-necked crow is the largest of the four Caribbean crow species. Two other species, the Cuban crow and the Jamaican crow, appear to be very closely related to it sharing several key morphological features. The fourth species from this region, the palm crow, would appear to be a later arrival and shows similarities to the fish crow of North America and two Mexican species, despite it also being native to Hispaniola.
  A stocky bird, this forest crow is found on the island of Hispaniola. It was formerly native to Puerto Rico, but is extirpated there due to considerable forest clearance and hunting. It inhabits both lowland and mountain forest, and unlike the related Cuban crow, does not appear to tolerate areas that have been cleared for farming. It often flies high over the forest canopy and soars on thermals, unlike the palm crow, which rarely, if ever, soars.
context_section_description: It is the largest Caribbean corvid, measuring 42–46 centimetres or 17–18 inches in length. The overall appearance is black, with a bluish-purple gloss in good light; despite its name, its neck is completely black. The black bill is long and deep, and curves gently downward to the tip, giving the bird a large headed appearance. The nasal bristles do not quite cover the nostrils, unlike the majority of species in this genus. There is a patch of dark grey bare skin behind the eye, and the base of the lower mandible has a bare strip of the same coloured skin. The iris is a distinctive crimson red in colour, and the legs and feet are black.
caption: In flight at Laguna de Oviedo, Dominican Republic
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