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Bird · Corvus splendens
House crow
कौआ (kauva)
IUCN LC · Least concern
The grey-collared crow of every Indian street, market and rooftop. It lives entirely alongside people and has done for centuries.
How to recognise it
Smaller and slimmer than a jungle crow, with a pale grey neck and breast against black. The call is a flat, unmusical «kaa».
Where to see it
Varanasi
At Varanasi the crow's role in the Pitru Paksha rites is at its most visible: through that fortnight, food set out for ancestors on the ghats is left for crows to take.
Dashashwamedh Ghat