Articles
Vol. 95 No. 2 (2025)
The hybrid zone between the Pied Crow (Corvus albus) and the Somali Crow (Corvus edithae) in Eritrea
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Published: 10 December 2025
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The genus Corvus includes some well-documented cases of hybridization between species. Hybrids are usually concentrated in narrow hybrid zones located along the borders of the parental species’ ranges. However, the hybrid zone between the Somali Crow (Corvus edithae), an all-black endemic of the Horn of Africa, and the Pied Crow (Corvus albus), a conspicuously black-and-white species widespread across much of sub-Saharan Africa, has received little attention. Between 1999 and 2019, we conducted field observations in coastal and insular Eritrea, where both species are common, except in towns and large villages, from which they are largely excluded by the invasive House Crow (Corvus splendens). We recorded hybrids between Somali and Pied Crows at eight sites across a narrow area spanning over 300 km along the Danakil Desert coastline and on the Dahlak and Hawakil archipelagos of Eritrea. Additionally, we updated the known distribution of these hybrids in northeastern Africa by combining our field data with a review of scientific literature, as well as recent online photographs and reports from birdwatchers.
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How to Cite
The hybrid zone between the Pied Crow (Corvus albus) and the Somali Crow (Corvus edithae) in Eritrea. (2025). Rivista Italiana Di Ornitologia, 95(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/rio.2025.914
Copyright (c) 2025 Giuseppe De De Marchi, Giorgio Chiozzi
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