The Grosbeaked Crow, Simien Mountains, Ethiopia

High in the mountains of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, the Grosbeaked Crow holds the title of the world's most enormous crow. It measures almost seventy centimeters and weighs more than 1.5 kilograms, about a quarter more than an ordinary crow. Its vast, arched beak, pale at the base and about nine centimeters long, is the largest among perching birds. It mainly lives between 1,500 and 3,400 meters above sea level, on farmland, rocky cliffs, and even the rooftops of mountain villages.

It feeds on a wide variety of foods: carrion, insects, larvae, seeds, crops such as wheat, and even human remains. Observers have seen it pull larvae out of dung piles and even force Verreaux's eagle owls to abandon their nests. It builds large stick nests in tall trees or cliffs and lays three to five blue-green eggs. Its plumage reflects purple hues in the sunlight, making it a striking bird of the African highlands.

In Spain we find their close relative, the common crow and the rook, which display similar intelligent and adaptive behaviors, reminding us of the richness of birds in our own ecosystems.