Endangered
Stresemann's Bushcrow
Zavattariornis stresemanni
The Ethiopian bushcrow, also known as the Stresemann's bushcrow, Abyssinian pie, bush crow, or by its generic name Zavattariornis, is a rather starling-like bird, that is a member of the crow family, Corvidae.
Appearance
Overall it is pale grey with a black tail and wings. The head, mantle, scapulars, back, rump, and uppertail coverts are all a pale grey. The feathers on the forehead, upper ear-coverts, and throat fade into white.
The Ethiopian bushcrow is about 28 centimetres (11 in) long and weighs 130 grams (4.6 oz).
Published measurements include mass about 130.
Range and habitat
This species is endemic to central-southern Ethiopia. Its total range covers about 2,400 square kilometres (930 sq mi). For many years it was unknown why the species could be completely absent from areas of suitable habitat near seemingly identical but inhabited land.
The range of this species is quite restricted, it being confined to thorn acacia country in southern Ethiopia near Yavello (Javello), Mega, and Arero. In the Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, acacia trees are being collected for firewood, removing the bushcrow's nesting site.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
This species does not migrate. It begins foraging at sunrise.
While foraging, a bushcrow can be alone, in a pair, or in a group of six or seven other bushcrows. A foraging bushcrow digs vigorously in the soil while its beak is held slightly open to catch any insects it unearths. The bushcrow occasionally has a third bird, or in rare cases two to four more, help the breeding couple both build the nest and care for the young.
In crisis
This requirement makes it extremely vulnerable to climate change, and massive declines and even potential extinction in the wild are projected in the future, making it one of the birds most threatened by climate change. It is believed that between 1999 and 2003 the population of the bushcrow declined by 80%. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the Ethiopian bushcrow as endangered because of its very restricted range and loss of suitable habitat.
The population seems to be declining rapidly and in 2007 it was estimated that there might be fewer than 10,000 birds remaining.
Stresemann's Bushcrow is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Stresemann's Bushcrow, Wikidata item Q416528. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
