6533b873fe1ef96bd12d4ac1

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Calls of the Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos s.l.) as a taxonomic character

subject

description

A discriminant analysis of the call structure completely separates threeCorvus taxa (levaillantii andjaponensis of the ‘macrorhynchos group’,splendens) inhabiting the southern slopes of the Himalayas (Nepal, Kashmir). The acoustic differences are considered taxonomically relevant, indicating species boundaries. Therefore the Jungle Crows of lower and upper Nepal (contact zone at around 2,000 m) are assigned to two biospecies (C. japonensis andC. levaillantii), as is consistent with morphological, ecological and parasitological data. It appears possible to extrapolate the findings regarding call structure to the systematics of other ‘macrorhynchos’ populations as distant as the Russian Far East, and those regarding mallophagan parasites to large areas of SE Asia; regarding the vocal characteristics, however, further clarification is needed.