Hispaniolan Palm Crow (Corvus palmarum) [XC97206]
by Ross Gallardy from Lago Enriquillo, Independencia, Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic (call)
Hispaniolan Palm Crow (Corvus palmarum) [XC308660]
by Ross Gallardy from El Aceitellar, Pedernales, Dominican Republic (call)
Subspecies
Corvus palmarum (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was previously split into Palm Crow (Corvus palmarum) and Cuban Palm Crow (Corvus minutus) following Garrido et al. (1997), but these two taxa have now been lumped as Corvus palmarum following AOU (1998).
Appears to be more closely related to ravens than it is to other Caribbean crows. Preliminary comparison of DNA sequences suggests 6% divergence from ravens, but 8-10% divergent from White-necked Crow (Corvus leucognaphalus) and Cuban Crow (Corvus nasicus). Subspecies have been treated as two distinct species, but differences minimal and even as subspecies they are weakly differentiated.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
minutus Württemberg, 1835 - Cuba. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Cuban Palm Crow (Corvus minutus).
palmarum Württemberg, 1835 - Hispaniola.
Similar Species
Cuban Crow (Corvus nasicus) which is larger with exposed nostrils, but best separated by call; tail flicking not recorded for Cuban Crow (Corvus nasicus), and on Hispaniola with White-necked Crow (Corvus leucognaphalus) which is larger and also has exposed nostrils, it is also best separated by call.
References
See References.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet