It is very adaptable and is able to survive on a wide range of food sources, making it capable of colonizing new areas, due to which it is often considered a nuisance, especially on islands.

It has a large bill, which is the source of its scientific name macrorhynchos (Ancient Greek for "long-billed") and it is sometimes known by the common name thick-billed crow.

The large-billed crow was formally described in 1837 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler under the current binomial name Corvus macrorhynchos.

Generally, all taxa have dark greyish plumage from the back of the head, neck, shoulders and lower body.

It occurs in woodland, parks and gardens, cultivated regions with at least some trees, but is a bird of more open country in the south of its range where it is not in competition with the common raven and carrion crow of the north.

In Japan, crows are considered to be a pest, as they rip open garbage bags and take wire coat hangers for their nests.

The Japanese subspecies of Large-billed crow are also known for their regular, unprovoked attacks on humans, especially when passing through near their nesting areas.

In Sri Lanka, Karunarathna & Amarasinghe (2008)[9] noted that the jungle crow might actually be a, if not the, major predator of local small animals; jungle crows are highly experienced at catching lizards, taking only 45 minutes to find, catch and consume four critically endangered endemic lizards in Horton Plains National Park.

[10][11] The nest is a platform of twigs, usually high up on a tree with a preference for tall conifers like fir or pine.

The ground colour is any shade of blue-green, and is blotched, speckled and streaked with dull reddish-brown, pale sepia, grey and neutral tint.