Cape Crow

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Cape Crow at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Goukamma Nature Reserve, Anysberg Nature Reserve, Gamkaberg Nature Reserve, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and Kwandwe Private Game Reserve and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The Cape Crow is most recorded in Western Cape (33% of records), Eastern Cape (30% of records), Northern Cape (15% of records), based on 1,164 iNaturalist observations. 73 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Cape Crow on site or nearby.

The Cape Crow is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Cederberg Wilderness Area: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Goukamma Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr; Anysberg Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov; Gamkaberg Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

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 has proportionately longer legs, wings and tail too and has a much longer, slimmer bill that seems to be adapted for probing into the ground for invertebrates.