Fan-tailed Raven

Bristle raven with a piece of pita bread, West Bank

The bristle Raven ( Corvus rhipidurus ), also referred to as subjects bristle Raven, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae.

Description

With a length of 47 centimeters, the bristle Raven belongs next to the white -necked ravens of the smaller species of the family. He has about the same size as the carrion crow, but a thicker beak, a shorter tail and wings much longer.

The bristle Raven is completely black, including the beak. Feet, legs and feathers shine purple blue in the sun. Worn plumage shows a slight coppery brown color. The base of the feathers on the upper neck is white. The throat feathers are shorter than in most other ravens. The voice is a throaty croak, mixed with sounds, listen to the croaking of frogs like.

Distribution and habitat

The bristle Raven comes in the Middle East, North Africa, Arabia, southern Sudan and in Kenya. He is also spread over the Aïr massif south of the Sahara. It prefers open deserts and dry land, including the rocks to nest with. The bristle Raven puts in his search for food back very long distances. Similar to the vultures its long wings are adapted for sliding in the updrafts.

Behavior

The food is always recorded on the ground and consists of insects and other invertebrates, grains that are picked from animal manure, as well as human food waste. Occasionally, he also freed camels of skin parasites and where it is not persecuted, he plunders waste places and camp. All kinds of fruits enrich the food supply. He sails and plays more often than other African raven species with thermals. You can often see him in the company of desert ravens on the same tree.

The type normally nests in rocky outcrops. In Somalia, however, he was already observed nesting in trees. The nest consists of two to four eggs. The Häherkuckuck used the bristle ravens sometimes as a breeding host.