Cape crow, or black crow (Corvus capensis), 18th century illustration. This crow is slightly larger (48??0 cm in length) than the carrion crow and is completely black with a slight gloss of purple in its feathers. It has proportionately longer legs, wings and tail too and has a much longer, slimmer bill that seems to be adapted for probing into the ground for invertebrates. The head feathers have a coppery-purple gloss and the throat feathers are quite long and fluffed out in some calls and displays. From Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux d'Afrique (Natural History of Birds of Africa), Volume 2, by Franeois Le Vaillant (1753-1824), published in Paris, France in 1799.