Sinaloa Crow, Corvus sinaloae

Sinaloa Crow, Corvus sinaloae. Photograph taken in the greater Alamos area, Alamos, Sonora, April 2018. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

The Sinaloa Crow, Corvus sinaloae, is a member of the Corvidae Family of Crows, Jays and Magpies, which has one hundred twenty-eight global members placed in twenty-three genera, and one of forty-four global species of the Corvus Genus. They are known in Mexico as cuervo sinaloense.

The Sinaloa Crow is small in stature. They are a uniform glossy black in color with the head and upperparts having a purplish sheen. Their underparts are glossy dark blue to dark purple. They have a strong black bill, black feet, a dark brown iris, and a long tail. They can be recognized by their high-pitched voice. The sexes are similar in appearance.

The Sinaloa Crow is found in semi-open areas that are found in close proximity to human developments that frequent rubbish dumps, to feed, and intertidal areas. They are omnivores that consume fruit, insects, human refuse, roadkill, seeds, and marine invertebrates including crabs and shellfish. The Sinaloa Crow is poorly studied, and their biology and behavioral patterns are not well studied or documented.

The Sinaloa Crow is endemic to northwestern Mexico found along the lower Pacific Slope within the coastal plain within the states of southern Sonora south to Nayarit and west to western Durango at elevations up to 1,000 m (3,300 feet).

The Sinaloa Crow is difficult to distinguish from and easily confused with the Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, and the Tamaulipas Crow, Corvus imparatus, found in northeastern Mexico.

From a conservation perspective the Sinaloa Crow is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable widely distributed populations.