Eusocial crow (SciiFii)

The eusocial crow (Eucorvus socialis) is a species of crow that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the rainforests, wetlands, forests, and open woodlands across Eurasia and North America to help boost biodiversity. The castes are determined by a complex interaction of hormones and pheromones (the latter produced in the Harderian gland). The workers are the smallest eusocial crow castes, about the size of the rock dove (Columba livia). The male workers are chiselers, convergent with woodpeckers who drill tunnels out of trees both to obtain insect prey and expand the nest; occasionally they may also skim water for small fish. The female workers are collectors, who hunt insects, gather seeds and nuts, and build the outward parts of the nests. Both groups of workers may take care of the egg chamber. The female soldier, whose beak is modified like a bird of prey, defends the colony, scavenges for carcasses and also hunts small vertebrate kills such as rodents and lizards. Workers bring back the kills. The male drone duels other drones and mates with the queen, unless banished from the colony; banished drones will raid conspecific colonies. The queen, which is about the size of the common raven (Corvus corax), is of course the leader of the hive-nest, protected at all costs, and lays the eggs. Communication is more by sound than by pheromone, in a significant contrast with eusocial insects. Due to the increased intelligence of birds compared to colonial insects, the queen is actually able to directly command the colony using a system of caws, jeers, and other sounds produced in the syrinx. The network of connected nests is still mostly self-organizing, however. Like in bumblebees, adaptation to eusociality is incomplete, and mutiny is possible. In case of mutiny, the largest female soldier becomes the queen and undergoes rapid physical changes. The conservation status of the eusocial crow is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the eusocial crow's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii