Description
The Stresemann's Bushcrow is about 28 centimeters (11 in) long and weighs 130 grams (4.6 oz). The genders look similar and are not sexually dimorphic. Overall it is pale grey with a black tail and wings. The head, mantle, scapulars, back, rump, and uppertail coverts are all a pale grey. The feathers on the forehead, upper ear-coverts, and throat fade into white. The bright azure skin around the bushcrow's eye is featherless and can be inflated, narrowing the blackish-brown eye into a slit. The feathers behind the eye are capable of moving to reveal an oblong pink patch of skin. The bird's black beak decurves into a sharply pointed tip and is relatively small for a corvid. This beak is 33 to 39 millimeters (1.3 to 1.5 in) long. The feathers on the bird's chin are fine and can form a small tuft when erected. The bushcrow's breast and flanks are pale grey, fading into white on the rear flanks, belly, and undertail. On the wings, the lesser and median upper-wing coverts are grey, while the rest of the wing is a slightly glossy blue-black. Its blue-black tail is relatively long and square-ended. Its legs are black. When the plumage becomes worn, the upperparts appear to have a brownish tinge. The juvenile Stresemann's Bushcrow is slightly duller than the adult, and the feathers of the body and upperwings are fringed with creamy-fawn. The facial skin, bill, and legs are also a dull grey.
The bushcrow is a very vocal species, particularly when foraging. Its main contact call has been described as a single metallic "kej". While flying, the species frequently calls out a nasal, rapid "kerr kerr kerr". While these are the most frequent vocalizations, several others are known. Allopreening adults utter a metallic "kaw, kaw, kaw". Foraging birds call out "how, how, how", a single, quiet "quak", and a soft, repeated "guw". While building its nest, the bushcrow is known to utter a low "keh" sound, and adults utter a deep "waw" while rubbing their bills together.
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