Distinctive crow with an ashy gray body and contrasting black head, wings, and tail. Essentially unmistakable unless seen in poor light or at a distance. Birds average paler in eastern parts of range, with “Mesopotamian Crow” of Iraq and southwestern Iran being almost black-and-white. Found in varied open and semiopen habitats from towns and farmland to open woodland and moorland. Found in pairs or small groups, not usually in large flocks except at roosts. Hybridizes with Carrion Crow where the two overlap. Gives typical crow caws, often indistinguishable from those of Carrion Crow.