Crows And croce belong to the same family, i Corvidthese are shrewd birds, intelligent and complex social life very important for Italian ecosystems. Many species of corvids, among which even heels are included (Colloeus monadula), Gazze (Pica Pica), Gracchi and Ghiandaie (Garrulus Glandarius), they physically resemble each otherwith a plumage that tends to black and gray, and have similar habits (they are both social animals and well adapted to urban environments), which makes it easy to confuse them with each other. Paying attention to dimensions, plumage, beak and habitat, however, we can distinguish for example some species of crows, from two -tone or black plumagefrom the common crow, which instead has a characteristic “naked face”, because free of feathers around the beak. The imperial crow is instead easily recognizable because it is the bigger Among its narrow relatives, with some specimens that reach up to 70 cm. Here are the main species belonging to the family of the corvids present on the Italian territory, and how to recognize them.
Characteristics of the Gray Cornacchia – Corvus cornix
One of the easiest corvids to meet on the Italian territory is the Gray Cornacchia (Corvus cornix) because of its massive presence also in urban environments in almost all of Italy. It is also one of the easiest to recognize for the characteristic two -tone plumage, with head, chest, wings and tail of an intense black, and the rest of the body ash gray color. Ombrewing on an opportunity that does not disdain our scraps or the eggs or pigeon chicks, the gray cornacchia is for this reason very suitable for the city environment. Like many species of corvids, it is a Intelligent and social animal which joins numerous groups and uses the typical GRACCHIO for complex communications.
Black Cornacchia (Corvus crowns), how to recognize it
There Black Cornacchia (Corvus crowns) is, like his close relative, a bird opportunist and social. It has a completely black plumage, which makes it very easy to distinguish from the gray brink; To differentiate it from other very similar corvids (such as the common crow and the imperial crow) you can base yourself on Reflexes of the plumagewhich in this species tend to green Instead of blue-valetto. Also this crow is used to both forests and urban environments, but its presence in Italy is limited to the Alpine arc, which makes it more difficult to meet.
Common crow (Corvus Frugilegus)
The common crow or wild (Corvus Frugilegus), while sharing dimensions and color with crows, it is easy to distinguish for the “Naked” facethat is, an area around the beak without plumage and gray in color. Contrary to what the name suggests, the common crow is unfortunately hand as a hand disgusting from this country: being a migratory species, it comes here only for winterand climate change that have made the warmer winters are increasingly reducing its presence. The specimens that winter in Italy nowadays come from Russia and Ukraine and usually stay in the Po Valley.
Imperial crow (Corvus Corax), the largest of the corvids
Considered the “king” of the corvids, the imperial crow (Corvus Corax) is certainly the most impressive, even reaching 70 cm in length in the larger specimens. In addition to the largest dimensions, it stands out for pointed and erectile feathers, called beardat the base of the beak, which he uses to express himself with the like, and who give him a picturesque and “bearded” aspect. Originally from Aurasia, he later colonized the forests of North America through the current Bering Strait over 2 million years ago, one of the few species to have made the continental leap without relying on the human being.
It is also the most famous crow in literature and cinema – if you see a corvide in some horror, it is probably an imperial crow (in English Ravento be distinguished from Crow with which the crows are instead indicated, e rook which indicates the common crow). In Italy, The species is rarepresent in the Alpine and Apennine mountain areas.
The other corvids present in Italy
In addition to crows and crows, in Italy there are also other species of corvids, with decidedly more recognizable feathers.
Jackdaw
In addition to being smaller in size (max 35 cm) there jackdaw (Colloeus monadula) is easily recognizable for the silver gray plumage on the headand above all for the Eyes with a gray-blue iriswith a distinct pupil, a unique feature among the Euroasian Corvids. From the opportunistic habits, starting from the 1950s, the heels are well adapted to the urban environment And they are present on almost all of the Italian territory. They are very social birds that aggregate in colonies that come to hundreds of individuals, with couples monogame who hold ties throughout their lives.
Magpie
Protagonist of many legends (many of which are not true), the Jazza Ladra (Pica Pica) is also famous for its splendid Black, black, green and iridescent blue plumage. More slender than the other corvids, La Gazza is a territorial animal, with monogamous couples defending the area near their nest. It is an animal with a very complex sociality, in which they have been observed intricate group rites. Initially more typical than rural areas, the magpie is also gradually colonizing urban environments, driven by Easy access to food resources. It is located throughout the peninsula with the exception of Sardinia.
Gracco
Present only on the Alps and Apennines, i croak They are high altitude corvids that during the day move to numerous groups in search of berries, insects and flowers. For some years now, in the most touristy alpine areas, the waste of humans in picnic areas are sufficient to feed them, and therefore almost never drop altitude. In Italy there are two species, distinguishable from Beak shape and color: the Alpine Gracch (Pyrrhocorax Graculus) with a short and yellow beak and the coral gracco (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) with a longer and curved beak with a red-orange color.
Ghiandaia and hazelnut
Even if from the appearance of the plumage they do not resemble the crows, even giandaie (Garrulus Glandarius) and hazelnuts (Nucifraga Caryocatactes) belong to the Corvidi family. Birds plus lonely However, they aggregate in larger groups during movements, the acorns and hazelnuts have not yet colonized the urban environments and remain in the moment in the rural and wild areas.
On the right, a hazelnut, with a darker and darker plumage.
The hazelnut is located in the Alpine territory, while the acorn in almost all of Italy. Despite being omnivorousas the name suggests, they prefer acorns, walnuts, berries and fruit, which collect and retain in the ground and in the cortex in anticipation of winter. The acoring is color light brownblack and white and a characteristic area in the middle of the blue wing, while the hazelnut is more squat and has a darker brown color with white scarves in the front of the body.
