Stresemann's Bush-Crow (Zavattariornis stresemanni)

Outside the breeding season, from June to February, the Ethiopian bush-crow is a gregarious species, grouping together with up to nine other crows to forage for insects, and sometimes also with white-crowned starlings (Spreo albicapillus). In February pairs move away from each other and build a nest on top of a six-metre-tall Acacia bush. The nest is an enclosed conical structure with a tubular entrance. It has a diameter of 60 cm on the outside and is woven from 30 cm thorn sticks. The interior is lined with dung and dry grass into which the female lays up to six smooth, glossy, cream-coloured eggs with lilac spots. It is not clear whether the pair breed again in May and June or whether the chicks are still being cared for, but pairs do not rejoin their flocks until late June (2).

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