a whole number of moderate-sized types of the type Corvus from the family of the raven-birds marks as "crows" one, bigger forms of it as "ravens." Quite inaccurate collective-concepts, that still frequently mixed up to it and often is applied also to all dark raven-birds likewise, are both.
Carrion-crow (Corvus corone)) In Europe, rooks and carrion-crows, who are subdivided into 2 black ones and 4 gray-black subtypes on the other hand, live as "typical" crows. One calls fog-crows them until on heads and necks in the small-plumage of gray colored forms of the oriental Central Europe, carrion crows against it the completely black more western birds. In its overlap-areas verpaaren itself members of the different races frequently among each other and produces mischfarbige and fully reproductive-capable bastards. The type-demarcation therefore is not yet completely developed with carrion crows (Corvus corone corone) and fog-crows (Corvus corone cornix).
The fog-crow lives in east and Northern Europe as well as in Scotland's north and in Ireland. The mixture-zone with the more western carrion crow proceeds through Germany (from Schleswig-Holstein over the Lübecker bay, along the Elbe until to the Alps) and Austria until to the Mediterranean alongside; east, the spread-area of the fog-crows stretches as far as to the Ural and to the south of until North-India. they often move into the area of the carrion crows far west in the winter. Behind the Ural, a fully black carrion-crow-race, the Oriental crow (Corvus corone orientalis), that becomes partially essentially bigger than the western carrion crow, occurs again.
Both crow-types don't differ of each other in the behavior; the mixture-zones always are only in certain areas limited, however; they are partially only few kilometers broadly, prolonged over 100 km here and there, however.
Habitat Carrion-crows live in very multifarious habitats of the coasts until into high mountain-situations. its severe adaptability - also regarding its food - mated with it for most of the raven-birds of virtually typical fast intelligence and big "curiosity" lets carrion-crows also cope well exactly in the proximity of human settlements. They are pursued because of its preference for nest-robberies as "pests" in many places what doesn't endanger its continuance seriously, however.
Reproduction Carrion-crows frequently meet outside the incubation to bigger swarms. During the brood-period (beginning in March / April, in northern areas May / June), however, the brood-pairs nest individually on high trees (in contrast to the rook) from where the birds have a long-range overview.
The nest is quite extensive composite from branches and also often hardens with earth; the Nistmulde lay out crows with soft, fine material.
The nest consists of 4 -7, usually 5 eggs, that become erbrütet from the female alone for 18-20 days. The male bird takes over the food-procurement meanwhile. The newly slipped nestlings are bedunt gray and beg with its shining-pink colored Sperrachen after feed. As soon as after the 1. Life-week itself the female no more constantly around the nest-stools must concern, both parents-birds look after the offspring until the young crows finally leave the nest after 4 -5 weeks.
Carrion-crows become sexually mature in the age of 2-3 years and usually stay together long with the once chosen brood-partner its entire life. Fog and carrion crows retain also its brood-precinct over long time periods; usually it is stand-birds, only northern populations move into milder areas to the winter.
The Alps-crows and Alpendohlen as well as the Dohlen fells crows zoologically seen not under the collective-concept although they are socialized together from time to time. Some further crow-types live in Africa, Asia and North America.
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