Corvus capensis
Silhouette: Peileppe · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The Cape crow or black crow (Corvus capensis) is slightly larger (48–50 cm in length) than the carrion crow and is completely black with a slight gloss of purple in its feathers. It also has proportionately longer legs, wings, and tail, and has a much longer, slimmer bill that seems to be adapted for probing into the ground for invertebrates. The head feathers have a coppery-purple gloss and the throat feathers are quite long and fluffed out in some calls and displays.
This species occurs in two large separate regions of the African continent. One form ranges from the Cape at the southern tip of Africa north to southern Angola and across to the east coast of Mozambique. The other population occurs in a large area from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya in central East Africa. The more northern population is on average slightly smaller than the southern. It inhabits open grassland, moorland, and agricultural areas with some trees or woodland in the vicinity for nesting. It seems to thrive especially in agricultural areas.
It eats grain and other seeds, and invertebrates, which it digs for with powerful downward stabs of... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 4 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 8 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | Aberdare National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 3 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giraffe House | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Montecasino Bird Gardens | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Crow sighting in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 287th most-seen of the 341 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Crow in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Crow sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
13th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Cape Crow sightings, Samburu National Reserve ranks 13th at under 5%. The best odds are in Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 60%), Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 50%) and Bale Mountains National Park (Ethiopia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Corvus
The closest relatives of the Cape Crow that you can see in Samburu National Reserve (genus Corvus, Crows and Ravens) are Fan-tailed Raven (about 30%) and Pied Crow (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Crow is recorded against all the birds logged in Samburu National Reserve (16 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
