Cuban Palm Crow

Two Species of Palm Crows.  Opinions differ on the taxonomic status of Hispaniolan and Cuban Palm Crows.  Raffaele et al. (1998) regard the two as separate species based on differences in voice, plumage sheen, and leg and bill measurements.  The Handbook of the Birds of the World regards the two as conspecific, stating that “even as races they are weakly differentiated; vocal differences minor.”

Based on recordings available online, there is an apparent difference between the voices of the two forms.  Hispaniolan’s is rougher, more guttural, whereas Cuban’s is higher-pitched, smoother, and more varied.  Raffaele et al. also describe a difference in phrasing: Cuban’s as “a harsh craao, with an initial abrupt rise in pitch, then leveling off and falling slightly at the end”; and Hispaniolan’s as “a harsh nasal aaar, with the vowel sound as in the word ‘fast.’”

Raffaele et al. describe the sheens on Cuban’s plumage as “a faint violet” and on Hispaniolan’s as “purplish and bluish”—but this distinction is difficult to parse and it seems more accurate to describe Hispaniolan’s as purplish, bluish, or violet, and Cuban’s as faint-to-nonexistent  The two forms also differ ecologically as reflected in their habitat tolerances, with Hispaniolan occurring mainly in pine forests and desert scrub, and Cuban mainly lowland palm savannas.