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Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. [1] [2] [3] In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Currently, 139 species are included in this family.
The true currawongs are a little larger than the Australian magpie, smaller than the ravens (except possibly the little raven, which is only slightly larger on average), but broadly similar in appearance. They are easily distinguished by their yellow eyes, in contrast to the red eyes of a magpie and white eyes of Australian crows and ravens ...
Magpie, magpie, I go by thee!" and to spit on the ground three times. [8] On occasion, jackdaws, crows and other Corvidae are associated with the rhyme, particularly in America where magpies are less common. [9] In eastern India, the erstwhile British colonial bastion, the common myna is the bird of association. [10]
The Australian magpie, Cracticus tibicen, is conspicuously "pied", with black and white plumage reminiscent of a Eurasian magpie. It is a member of the family Artamidae and not a corvid. The magpie-robins , members of the genus Copsychus , have a similar "pied" appearance, but they are Old World flycatchers , unrelated to the corvids.
Australian crow and raven species have white eyes and lack the white rump, and the similar-sized Australian magpie has red eyes and prominent black and white plumage. [38] The larger grey currawong is readily distinguished by its lighter grey overall plumage and lack of white feathers at the base of the tail. [40]
The pied crow (Corvus albus) is a widely distributed African bird species in the crow genus of the family Corvidae. Structurally, the pied crow is better thought of as a small crow-sized raven, especially as it can hybridise with the Somali crow (dwarf raven) where their ranges meet in the Horn of Africa .
The bird has found itself in this situation mainly by association, says Steve Roud: "Large black birds, like crows and ravens, are viewed as evil in British folklore and white birds are viewed as good". [48] In European folklore, the magpie is associated with a number of superstitions [49] surrounding its reputation as an omen of ill fortune.
Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) in flight Jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) scavenging on a dead shark at a beach in Kumamoto, Japan. Medium-large species are ascribed to the genus, ranging from 34 cm (13 in) of some small Mexican species to 60–70 cm (24–28 in) of the large common raven and thick-billed raven, which together with the lyrebird represent the larger passerines.