| Banggai crow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| C. unicolor inSulawesi Tengah, Indonesia | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Corvus |
| Species: | C. unicolor |
| Binomial name | |
| Corvus unicolor (Rothschild &Hartert, 1900) | |
| Synonyms | |
Corvus enca unicolor | |
TheBanggai crow (Corvus unicolor), known askuuyak in theBanggai language, is a member of thecrow family fromBanggai regency in the province ofCentral Sulawesi inIndonesia. It is listed ascritically endangered byIUCN.[1] It was fearedextinct, but was finally rediscovered during surveys onPeleng Island off the southeast coast ofSulawesi by Indonesian ornithologist Mochamad Indrawan in 2007 and 2008.
It was sometimes considered asubspecies of theslender-billed crow, but it is actually rather distinct from this bird, resembling an entirely blackpiping crow overall. The Banggai crow is a small crow, some 39 cm (15 in) long and completely black with a pale iris and a short tail.[2]
For more than a century, it was known from only twospecimens taken from an unknown island in the Banggai Archipelago - probably in 1884/1885. Visits to thearchipelago in 1991 and 1996 yielded no unequivocal records of the species, leading some to believe it was extinct. During a survey conducted between 2007 and 2008 and partially financed by the Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations (Germany), it was repeatedly seen on Peleng Island[3] and Indonesianornithologist Mochamad Indrawan caught and photographed two individuals.[4] The validity of the crows on Peleng was not recognized byBirdLife International in its 2009 Red List. Confirmation of the identity based on two specimens from Peleng was made byPamela C. Rasmussen of the American Museum of Natural History in October 2009.
The total population is estimated at approximately 500 mature individuals, living in mountain forest at altitudes above 500 m (1,600 ft).[3] The decline of the Banggai crow is thought to be primarily due to habitat loss and degradation throughagriculture andextraction.
This bird remained a complete enigma for a long time. Listed asVulnerable in the 1994IUCN Red List, it was changed toEndangered in 2000. In 2006, the status was considered as Possibly Extinct. This proved to be incorrect and the status was corrected to Critically Endangered in the 2007 Red List.[5][1]
