Large-billed Crow

Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) is a large glossy black Asian crow with a notably deep, heavy bill, steep forehead and often shaggy throat feathers. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is highly adaptable in forests, farmland and cities, eating fruit, invertebrates, small animals, carrion and human food, and constructs a stick nest high in a tree or on a structure. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).