Goodwin (1986) also mentioned that in Ethiopia, along the Eritrean coast 
and on the Dahlak Archipelago interbreeding is known to occur between 
Pied Crows and 'black crows' that are either an all-black morph or race 
of Pied Crows or are Brown-necked Ravens C. ruficollis edithae. These 
'hybrids' show a variable amount of black streaking and /or brownish, 
creamy feathers in the white parts, very similar to the two birds on the 
Farasan Islands. The northeasternmost border of this 'hybridization 
zone' is only 200km southeast of the Farasan Islands. There is also 
evidence that the Pied Crow is at least partially migratory in Africa 
(Goodwin 1986), and it has occurred as a vagrant outside its normal 
range, e.g. in northern Africa (Hollom et al 1988). However, in the 
absence of any records of Pied Crows in Arabia or of indications of 
dispersion of corvids across the Red Sea, and considering the scarcity of 
this form of interbreeding in Africa, I conclude that the chance of African 
origin 'hybrids' occurring on the Farasan Islands is very remote, although 
it can not be entirely excluded. Furthermore, the limited knowledge of 
field characteristics of these possible 'hybrids', the similarities in general 
morphology between Pied Crow and Brown-necked Raven, and the 
degree of individual variation in both species make it questionable 
whether these hybrids can be identified in the field. 
I therefore identified these birds only tentatively as aberrant coloured 
Brown-necked Ravens, based on the lack of pure whitish body parts. 
Aberrant colouration, regularly noticed in the Corvidae, is often a result 
of 'inbreeding' that can be expected to occur more frequently in isolated 
populations such as those found on islands. I would appreciate any 
comments or further information which might facilitate the correct 
identification of these unusual 'pied' Brown-necked Ravens on the 
Farasan Islands. 
References 
GOODWIN, D. (1986) Crows of the World. 2nd edition. British Museum of 
Natural History, London. 
HOLLOM, P. A. D., PORTER R. F., CHRISTENSEN, S. AND WILLIS, I. (1988) 
Birds of the Middle East and North Africa. T & A D Poyser, London. 
JENNINGS, M. C. (1988) A note on the birds of the Farasan Islands, Red Sea, 
Saudi Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 9: 457-467. 
Peter Symens, National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Developmen t, 
P O Box 61681, 11575 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 
Present address: Wildlife Sanctuary for the Gulf Region, P O Box 11071, 
31961 Jubail, Saudi Arabia. 
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