1. What's in a name?
2. What does it look like?
3. What does it sound like?
4. How does it behave?
5. Where does it live?
6. Cool Facts
   

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Common name: American crow

Scientific name: Corvus brachyrhynchos

Spanish names: Cuervo Americano

French names: Corneille d'Amérique

"Family Tree" (Taxonomy)

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Corvidae

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

Description:

• Entirely black
• Glossy sheen
• Stout, glossy black bill
• Black legs
• Sexes alike
• Young like adults, but less glossy
  

Size: Medium sized (16-21 inches)

Similar species: An American Crow's relatively short tail helps distinguish it from all other black birds.

Fish crows are very similar; the best way to tell them apart is by listening to calls. Fish crow have a more nasal voice, and are only seen in the eastern and southeastern United States.

Northwestern Crows are essentially identical, but with a more nasal voice. Northwestern Crows are only seen in the west.

Ravens are larger, and their bills are more curved. They're shaggier around the throat, and their voices are deeper. To compare ravens to crow, click here.

The most reliable way to find the difference between these species and American Crows is to listen to the calls: Fish Crows and Northwestern Crows have hoarse or nasal calls when compared to the typical "caw" sound of American Crows. However, fledgling American Crows sound just like any other crows!

Size is very variable in all crows, so don't rely on size to determine species.

Click here to compare American Crows and other corvids to other black-colored birds.

WHAT DOES IT SOUNDS LIKE?

To play this sound, you will need to have RealPlayer installed. To get RealPlayer, click here. Sounds are provided by the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds.

HOW DOES IT BEHAVE?

What does it eat? American Crows are omnivorous, meaning their diet is a mix of vegetation and animal life. They eat insects (such as beetles, grubs, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets), salamanders, spiders, millipedes, worms, small birds and mammals, bird eggs, nestlings and fledglings, grains such as corn, seeds and fruit, carrion (rotting meat), and even garbage and discarded human food.

Where does it eat? American Crows eat on the ground, though they will wade into shallow water if necessary. They tend to spot prey from elevated perches, and sometimes are known to follow plows to feast on exposed earthworms and grubs.

Who eats it? Large birds of prey such as Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, some hawks and eagles, and other animals such as raccoons and cats are all known to prey on American Crows.

Nesting: American Crows lay between 2 and 7 eggs (pale blue-green with brown markings). Parents incubate their eggs for 18 days. Their nest is usually a large, open cup of sticks placed high in trees (they especially like conifers).

WHERE DOES IT LIVE?

Range: American Crows live prolifically throughout North America, except in the driest southern areas, or where it is replaced by the Northwestern Crow in Washington state.

Habitat: American Crows live in a wide range of habitats, including suburban areas and agricultural lands. They can be seen in farmland, fields, dumps, city parks, golf courses, parking lots, cemetaries, yards, vacant lots, wooded areas, and more. This kind of flexibility is called being a "habitat generalist."

COOL FACTS

• Crows have complex and sophisticated social lives. Young crows stay with their parents, even when their parents are raising new young, until they can find a home of their own. Individual relationships may last years.
• Crows will play. Young crows have 'tugs of war' with objects such as twigs or bones. They have been known to fly in playful ways, especially during strong winds.
• During the fall and winter, American Crows may form communal roosts. These roosts can consist of hundreds, thousands, even up to millions of birds. During the day, they will fly as far as 50 miles to forage, but they return to the roost each evening. In the last few decades, some of these roosts have moved into urban areas, causing conflicts with people.
• In some regions, American Crows live inf amily groups where one-year old (or older) offspring help their parents guard their territories and raise their young.
• American Crows mimic Barred Owls, and can even imitate the human voice! It has been reported that they also make sounds like cats, dogs, and geese. Males make lower pitched sounds compared to females when they're together.
• The American Crow seems to be the biggest victim of West Nile virus in North America. In some areas, the loss of crows has been dramatic. In captivity, crows exposed to the virus die within one week of infection, and few seem able to survive. It appears that this may hold true in the wild as well.

Help scientists learn more about groups of crows and their relatives with Crows Count and Birdsleuth: Exploring Bird Behavior!

Sources used to construct this page:

McGowan, K.J. Frequently asked questions about crows. http://birds.cornell.edu/crows/crowfaq.htm

Verbeek, N.A.M. and C. Caffrey. 2002. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). In The Birds of North America, No. 647 (A Poole and F. Gill, eds). The Birds of North America, Ince., Philadelphia, PA.