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23

Torresian Crow

(Corvus orru)
Alternate name(s): "Australian Crow", "Large-billed Crow", "Crow*", "Kelly*"
Aboriginal name(s): "waja" [ngadjon]

Size: 48-53 cm
Weight: 440-670 g

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Torresian Crow at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "cecilae"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal portrait of a Torresian Crow (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[The Granites Gold Mine, inland NT, August 2015]

Close-up lateral view of the same Torresian Crow as shown above; here the bird's feathers are ruffled, exposing the WHITE basal down characteristic of crows [whereas ravens would have grey basal down] (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[The Granites Gold Mine, inland NT, August 2015]

Close-up frontal view of a Torresian Crow (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2013]

Frontal view of a cawing Torresian Crow (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2013]

Close-up frontal view of a cawing Torresian Crow; this bird's calls were recorded on 3 August 2017
(photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, August 2017]

Frontal view of a cawing Torresian Crow (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
[Moree, NSW, October 2013]

Near-lateral view of a cawing Torresian Crow (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[South Stradbroke Island, QLD, January 2012]

Lateral view of a Torresian Crow on a strainer post (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, November 2016]

Lateral view of a Torresian Crow
[Bunya Mountains NP, QLD, June 2017]

Lateral view of a Torresian Crow on the ground
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2013]

Lateral view of a Torresian Crow walking in search of prey
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a Torresian Crow on the ground
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a Torresian Crow
[Moree, NSW, August 2012]

Two Torresian Crows on a strainer post (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, November 2016]

Two Torresian Crows on a strainer post (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, November 2016]

Near-frontal view of a Torresian Crow in flight
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2013]

Near-frontal view of a Torresian Crow in flight
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2013]

Lateral view of a Torresian Crow in flight
[Old Bar, NSW, July 2013]

Lateral view of a Torresian Crow in flight (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, August 2016]

Torresian Crow in flight, seen from underneath; identification was made by the squarish shape of the tail, which is different to the more rounded shape of an Australian Raven's tail; note also the absence of hackles on its throat
[Moree, NSW, August 2012]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a ragged-looking juvenile Torresian Crow; the pinkish gape indicates that this is a young bird
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Lateral view of a juvenile Torresian Crow (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cooroy, QLD, December 2017]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a fledgling Torresian Crow; this bird was found still near its nest (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Keep River NP, NT, November 2018]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Mar Eggs: 3 - 5 Incubation period: 20 days Fledging age: ca. 40 days

The breeding season of Torresian Crows depends a lot on geographic latitude.

Nest building: Female & male Incubation: Female Dependent care: Male

While incubating and tending to the young, the female is fed on the nest by the male.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket Material: Sticks, possibly grass lining Height above ground: >10(?) m

The nest is built high up in the canopy of a live tree.

Close-up view of a Torresian Crow nest (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, July 2017]

Close-up view of a Torresian Crow nest, now from a different angle (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, August 2017]

Torresian Crow nest with one of its owners nearby; this bird's calls were recorded on 3 August 2017
(photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, August 2017]

Torresian Crow on its nest; note the small size of the nest, which is typical for the species - this bird's calls were recorded on 3 August 2017 (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, August 2017]

Torresian Crow at its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Town of 1770, QLD, September 2017]

Although Torresian Crows have only one brood per season, here is an adult that looks like brooding with a fledging-age chick on the edge of the nest and another fledgling nearby (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Keep River NP, NT, November 2018]

Torresian Crow on its nest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2022]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 45 x 30 mm Colour: Greyish, with light-brown speckles Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal Mobility: Sedentary/nomadic Elementary unit: Flock

Adult Torresian Crows tend to be sedentary, while juvenile and immature birds are nomadic.

Torresian Crows can be found in a variety of habitats, in this case in an estuary
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, March 2015]

Torresian Crow checking whether a kangaroo, while scraping out its pad, has disturbed something edible
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2019]

Torresian Crow taking a shower under a garden sprinkler
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2018]

Soaking wet Torresian Crow after a shower under a garden sprinkler; this bird was observed with its upper body full on in the water spray of the sprinkler
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2018]

One Torresian Crow begging another for a preen...
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2019]

... and getting it
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2019]

Torresian Crow throat hackle found where the two birds shown above had their shower
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2018]

The down of young Torresian Crows can be light-grey
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2019]

In a close encounter, a juvenile Torresian Crow and a juvenile Australian Magpie could not decide who was the strongest of the two...
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2022]

... so it was decided that both will share access to water
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2022]

Juvenile Torresian Crow vs. Nankeen Kestrel, in an argument over who was going to roost in a nearby tree; for audio click here
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2023]

Food, Diet

Adults: Omnivore Dependents: ? Water intake: Daily?

Like all other members of the Corvus family, Torresian Crows are omnivores. They feed on carrion, dead fish, insects, fruit and food scraps. They have also learned to kill and feed on Cane Toads.

Frontal view of a Torresian Crow taking a beetle
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]

Lateral view of a Torresian Crow trying to overpower a female Goliath Stick Insect (Eurycnema goliath) using its startle display for protection
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2023]

This Torresian Crow was observed to put down its prey, then have a drink of water, and come back to pick up its prey again
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]

Torresian Crow swallowing its prey after having had a drink first
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]

This is the Torresian Crow's unidentified prey
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

torcrow_20200715_3.m4a cecilae
(NE NSW)
Contact calls © MD
torcrow_20160920.m4a cecilae
(NE NSW)
Contact calls © MD
torcrow_20200627.m4a cecilae
(NE NSW)
Contact calls (in-flight) © MD
torcrow_20210324.m4a cecilae
(NW NSW)
Contact calls (Q&A, mob in-flight) © MD
torcrow_20221004_3.mp3 cecilae
(NW NSW)
Contact calls(?), at nest © MD
torcrow_20220927_2.mp3 cecilae
(NW NSW)
Contact calls(?), at nest © MD
torcrow_20190310.m4a cecilae
(NW NSW)
"Cawing" © MD
torcrow_20200715.m4a cecilae
(NW NSW)
"Cawing", Q&A © MD
torcrow_20200715_2.m4a cecilae
(NW NSW)
"Cawing" + departure © MD
torcrow_art_20131122.m4a cecilae
(SE QLD)
Group Q&A © ART
torcrow_20190123.m4a cecilae
(NW NSW)
Various (adult + juvenile) © MD
torcrow_20221004_2.mp3 cecilae
(NW NSW)
Chasing Common Mynas from near nest © MD
torcrow_20220927.mp3 cecilae
(NW NSW)
? (at nest) © MD
nankest_20230130_2.mp3 cenchroides
(NW NSW)
Upset (roost competition with Nankeen Kestrel) © MD
torcrow_20221105.mp3 cecilae
(NW NSW)
Begging juveniles & being fed (+ Willie Wagtail) © MD
torcrow_20221004_4.mp3 cecilae
(NW NSW)
Begging nestlings © MD
torcrow_20221004.mp3 cecilae
(NW NSW)
Begging nestlings © MD

More Torresian Crow sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.