The pied crow (Corvus albus) is a widely distributed African bird species in the crow genus, occuring from Sub-Saharan Africa down to the Cape of Good Hope. Structurally, the pied crow is better thought of as a small crow-sized Raven. The Pied Crow is found mainly in open country with villages and towns nearby, but it is also at home in some of Africa's larger cities. African Pied Crows are intelligent, crafty, sensitive, inquisitive, sneaky, yet in the wild can be destructive. Most of its food is obtained from the ground such as insects and other small invertebrates, small reptiles, small mammals, young birds and eggs, grain, peanuts, carrion and any scraps of human food and fruit. It has been recorded killing and eating roosting Fruit Bats and is frequently seen (sometimes in huge numbers) scavenging around slaughter houses.