Hooded Crow, in Slovenia

I recently returned from a week in Slovenia where Hooded Crow were by far the most visible early winter avian residents – the perfect opportunity to kick off the site’s Corvus cornix gallery.

They’re common throughout most of Europe and I see them fairly regularly in southeastern France, foraging in fields, along roadsides and riversides and in parks in and around Nice and Monaco, but not in the numbers they appear in Slovenia — at least during the late autumn and early winter months in the hills and river valleys around the capital Ljubljana and in the Alpine foothills in the country’s northwest, far from the more typical coastal habitats Hooded Crows prefer.

That’s where this first set, the images above the next three below, was shot, in August of 2025 at the Strunjan Nature Reserve in Strunjan, in southwestern Slovenia, where a few ruled the proverbial roost at the edge of the reserve’s Stjuža Lagoon, which forms part of the Adriatic seaside town’s saltworks. There’s an air of majesty in these portraits, as if they’re posing in borrowed two-colored cloaks.

They’re said to be extremely intelligent; according to one description as “often seen engaging in complex social interactions”. I’d be interested in watching a video illustrating that. While their natural habitats are gradually disappearing or increasingly under threat, their numbers are growing in urban areas, particularly in central European cities where management has become a debated, if not hotly-contested, issue.

There are also subspecies in the Urals and eastern Siberia, the southern Balkans, Central Asia and in parts of Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan.

Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, 22 December 2025

Here are two shots taken in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, altitude 800m (2,625ft), in the country’s northwest corner just a few kilometers from the borders with Italy and Austria in the Julian Alps. I spotted several during late morning and early afternoon walks on the edge of town near the Pišnica River, a tributary of the Sava Dolinka River which feeds into the Sava, Slovenia’s longest river. BirdingPlace.eu lists the Pišnica River Valley as a birding hotspot. It’s also a beautiful area to hike.

Sava River Valley, Tacen, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 26 December 2025

And a few more shots, these taken in the northernmost point of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana along the Sava River in the Tacen area, which sits in the shadow of Šmarna Gora (669m, 2,195 ft), the city’s highest hill. They literally were the proverbial dime a dozen during the week leading into and right after Christmas.

Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix) in brief (with assist from WordPress AI but double-checked by me at Birds of the World and Wikipedia):

• Size: Length: 45-50 cm (18-20 in); Wingspan: 84-100 cm (33-39 in)
• Diet: Omnivorous, feeding on a variety of food including insects, seeds, and carrion.
• Habitat: Found in open landscapes, forests, and urban areas; commonly inhabits coastal regions and wetlands.
• Physical Description: Distinctive gray body with a black head and tail; Notable for its hood-like black feathers covering the head and neck.
• Breeding: Nesting occurs in trees or cliffs; typically lays 4-5 eggs; Incubation lasts around 18-20 days, with the young fledging after about 30-32 days.
• Conservation Status: Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, but habitat loss poses potential threats in certain areas.
• Unique Behaviors: Known for its intelligence; displays tool use and problem-solving abilities. Often seen engaging in complex social interactions.
• Range and Migration: Native to Europe and parts of Asia; some populations are sedentary, while others migrate short distances depending on weather conditions.

Links for further reference:

• Hooded Crow at Birds of the World
• Hooded Crow at BirdLife DataZone
• Hooded Crow at eBird
• Hooded Crow at Avibase
• Hooded Crow at Wikipedia
• Hooded Crow at Oiseaux.net
• Hooded Crow at iNaturalist

News, research and academic articles:

• Is the Hitchcock Story Really True? Public Opinion on Hooded Crows in Cities as Input to Management. Animals 2022, 12(9), 1207.

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Added to the Bird of the Week post hosted by I.J on his site Don’t Hold Your Breath.

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Photos from August 2025 (Strunjan, Slovenia) and 22 December 2025 (Kranjska Gora, Slovenia) and 26 December 2025 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Post last updated on 27 December 2025.