The Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) is the all-black form of crow that occurs naturally across Western Europe, where it replaces the Hooded Crow familiar in Scandinavia. It is about 45–47 cm long with a wingspan of 93–104 cm, roughly the same size as a Hooded Crow. The entire body is a matte black with a faint greenish-metallic sheen in strong sunlight, the bill is heavy and straight, and the legs are black. Unlike the Raven, it lacks a wedge-shaped tail and is considerably smaller; juveniles resemble adults but lack the sheen.
The call is essentially identical to the Hooded Crow's — a hoarse, monotonous "kraaa-kraaa-kraaa" that can be repeated in long series, with a sharper, faster "kra-kra-kra" as an alarm call, alongside a varied repertoire of softer contact calls typical of corvids. Carrion Crows breed regularly in Western Europe, chiefly in France, Spain, the Benelux countries and the British Isles; in Sweden the species occurs only as scattered records during migration and winter, mostly in Skåne and along the south coast, and hybrids with Hooded Crow are sometimes found, showing plumage ranging from all-black to irregular grey-and-black. It favours the same habitats as the Hooded Crow — open farmland, coastal areas, woodland edges, parks and towns — as an opportunistic generalist that exploits almost any available food source, including insects, worms, carrion, eggs and nestlings of other birds, as well as berries, grain and food scraps. The nest is built of twigs high in a tree and lined with softer material, with a typical clutch of 4–6 eggs incubated for around three weeks. It is largely resident within its core range, though juveniles may wander further in winter.
Read about this species in Swedish →