Daurian Jackdaw Coloeus dauuricus 達烏里寒鴉
Category I. Rare winter visitor to open country areas, mainly in the Deep Bay area.
IDENTIFICATION
May 2014, Kinni Ho. Second calendar-year.
34-36 cm. Small all black or black and white corvid with short deeply-based triangular bill. First-winter birds are all blackish, darkest on crown and large bib-shaped area, with a dark iris and fine silver streaks on ear coverts and rear part of head, the latter more visible late in winter. This bird has begun moult to adult plumage as white is visible on lower belly.
Dec. 2014, Olivia To. Adult.
The pied adult plumage emerges in the first summer when nape and hind neck down to chest, flanks and belly become white, leaving a large black bib.
VOCALISATIONS
Typical calls are a nasal ‘kyow’, ‘kyrrow’ and a harsh ‘kyarr’ or ‘kyarrow’.
DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE
Apart from records at Penfold Park, Sha Tin, all have occurred in the Deep Bay area.
OCCURRENCE
Records are of single all-dark first-winter birds, unless stated.
1986: Tsim Bei Tsui on 30 November (Tipper 1987).
1987: Tsim Bei Tsui on 26 September 1987.
2000: Mai Po NR on 21-22 March and Nam Sang Wai on 3-4 April (presumed same bird).
2002: Tsim Bei Tsui on 18 February and Yuen Long on 23 February (presumed same bird).
2003: up to two at Mai Po NR from 7 November to 30 January 2004.
2004: Lut Chau on 27 November, 22 December and 11 March 2005 (presumed same bird).
2006: Mai Po NR and Lut Chau from 3 December to 6 April 2007.
2014: Penfold Park, one during 23-31 May and an adult on 10 December (possibly same bird).
BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET
Observed foraging in Lut Chau fish pond area on maggots and at Mai Po NR on the fruit of Melia azedarach. Elusive, even during long stays. Occasionally noted joining a pre-roost at Mai Po NR with other corvids.
RANGE & SYSTEMATICS
Monotypic. Breeds east and south Mongolia, north and northeast China and adjacent parts of Russia, and winters in China, the Korean peninsula and southern Japan (Madge 2020). In China a summer visitor to montane and submontane areas north of the Yangtze River excluding high plateau areas in the west and winter visitor to areas south of there, though rare in coastal provinces (Liu and Chen 2020).
CONSERVATION STATUS
IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend stable.
Liu, Y. and Y. H. Chen (eds) (2020). The CNG Field Guide to the Birds of China (in Chinese). Hunan Science and Technology Publication House, Changsha.
Madge, S. (2020). Daurian Jackdaw (Corvus dauuricus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.daujac1.01
Tipper, R. P. (1987). Daurian Jackdaw Corvus dauuricus at Tsim Bei Tsui. A species new to Hong Kong. Hong Kong Bird Report 1986: 81-82.
