Scientific name: Corvus albus
As its name suggests, its glossy black head and neck are interrupted by a large area of white feathering from the shoulders down to the lower breast but the tail, bill and wings are black. The eyes of a fully matured bird are dark brown. The white plumage of immature birds is often mixed with black. It resembles the White-necked and thick-billed ravens but is much smaller, less stocky and has a smaller bill.
Occurs across sub-Saharan Africa, absent only from areas of Somalia and Ethiopia, as well as much of eastern Botswana, the Northern Cape and western Namibia. It has become prolific, as its numbers and range are expanding especially in the Karoo. It often occupies savanna woodland and bushy shrubland, but it is becoming more and more common in farmland, urban and suburban areas.
It is omnivorous, feeding mainly on plant material such as fruit and seeds, doing most of its foraging on the ground. It also regularly eats animals, such as reptiles, fish, insects, small mammals and birds. In one observation, it caught and ripped apart a small bird in mid flight. It also takes eggs and even whole nests from breeding pairs of smaller birds. Reptiles are mainly taken from the ground (especially when crossing roads) and it may even attack fruit bats at their roosting site.
