Fears as aggressive Indian Crows fly inland from Coast

Indian House Crows hovering above of garbage pile at Kibarani Dumpsite in Mombasa County on Sunday, July 17, 2016. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

The invasive Indian House Crows, aggressive birds that have been wreaking havoc in Coastal towns, have spread their wings inland and have been sighted in Marigat town in Baringo.

The bird is not native to Kenya and is described by experts as an aggressive invasive pest. Though they are not indigenous to East Africa, they rule the skies in Coastal towns and are a nuisance.

The sighting of the bird in Baringo has sparked fears that they are fast spreading inland.

“Recently while going about my business in Marigat, I heard a strange bird call. Normally, as a birder, I would know the sounds of native birds and even the migrants. Upon checking on it, I realised it was the Indian House Crow next to a grocery stall,” Titus Chepkangor said.

According to North Rift Tourism Coordinator, William Kimosop, the sighting of the bird is bad news for the tourism sector.

“Coastal towns have been trying to control the spread of the bird for the longest time and sighting it in Marigat, a town over 700 kilometres away means that the bird might be spreading its wings faster than we thought,” Kimosop said.

The bird thrives on garbage and originated from India, as the name suggests. Experts say the birds entered Mombasa in 1947 as stow-away on ships or spread from the neighboring coastal town of Zanzibar.

Although the birds are non-migratory, they stow away in ships, often landing in coastal towns away from their native ranges.

“Indian House Crows are invasive and rule the skies in coastal towns of Kenya. They thrive on garbage, but have become a nuisance, getting into hotels and grabbing guests’ food.

"The birds are also displacing other native species that once thrived in those areas by raiding their nests and feeding on their young ones,” Paul Gacheru, a species expert at Nature Kenya says.

With the House Crows having no natural predators in Kenya and their ability to adapt to new environments quickly, they increased exponentially in numbers.

Over the years, bird experts have been monitoring the spread of House Crows and they have slowly been moving inland following the Mombasa road. 

In 1980, the birds had spread to Mariakani, south to Diani and north to Kilifi Creek.