American Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

At a Glance

Crows are thought to be among our most intelligent birds, and the success of the American Crow in adapting to civilization would seem to confirm this. Despite past attempts to exterminate them, American Crows are more common than ever in farmlands, towns, and even cities, and their distinctive caw! is a familiar sound over much of the continent. Sociable, especially when not nesting, American Crows may gather in communal roosts on winter nights, sometimes with thousands or even tens of thousands roosting in one grove.

All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Category

Crows, Magpies, Jays, Perching Birds

IUCN Status

Least Concern

Habitat

Coasts and Shorelines, Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Forests and Woodlands, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Landfills and Dumps, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Urban and Suburban Habitats

Region

Alaska and The North, California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada

Behavior

Direct Flight

Population

28.000.000

Range & Identification

Migration & Range Maps

Permanent resident in many areas; withdraws in fall from northern regions, and flocks spend the winter in some areas a short distance south of the breeding range.

Description

Sexes similar — Length: 16–21 in (41–53 cm); wingspan: 34–39 in (86–99 cm); weight: 11–22 oz (311–623 g). The American Crow is entirely black, characterized by a strong bill and a relatively short, square-tipped tail. Compare to other crows and ravens. Members of the blackbird family are all smaller, with different voices and shapes.

Size

About the size of a Crow

Color

Black

Wing Shape

Broad, Fingered, Rounded

Tail Shape

Square-tipped

Songs and Calls

Familiar caw-caw or caa-caa.

Call Pattern

Falling, Flat, Simple

Call Type

Rattle, Raucous

Habitat

Woodlands, farms, fields, river groves, shores, towns. The American Crow inhabits a wide variety of semi-open habitats, ranging from farmland and open fields to clearings in the woods. Often found on shores, especially in the Pacific Northwest, where the coastal population was formerly considered a separate species called “Northwestern Crow.” Avoids hot desert zones. They are adapting to towns and even cities, now often nesting in city parks.

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Behavior

Eggs

4-6, sometimes 3-9. Dull blue-green to gray-green, blotched with brown and gray. Incubation is probably mostly or entirely by female, about 18 days.

Young

Fed by both parents and sometimes by "helpers." Young leave nest about 4-5 weeks after hatching.

Feeding Behavior

Opportunistic, quickly taking advantage of new food sources. The American Crow feeds mostly on the ground, sometimes in trees. Scavenges along roads and at dumps. Will carry hard-shelled mollusks high in the air and drop them on rocks to break them open. Indigestible parts of food are coughed up later as pellets.

Diet

Omnivorous. The American Crow seems to feed on practically anything it can find, including insects, spiders, snails, earthworms, frogs, small snakes, shellfish, carrion, garbage, eggs, and young of other birds, seeds, grain, berries, and fruit.

Nesting

In courtship on the ground or in a tree, the male American Crow faces the female, fluffs up his body feathers, partly spreads his wings and tail, and bows repeatedly while giving a short rattling song. Mated pairs perch close together, touching bills and preening each other's feathers. A breeding pair may be assisted by "helpers," which are their offspring from previous seasons. The nest site is located in a tree or large shrub, 10-70 ft above the ground, typically in a vertical fork or at the base of a branch against the trunk. Rarely nests on the ground or on a building ledge. Nest (built by both sexes) is a large, bulky basket of sticks, twigs, bark strips, weeds, and mud, lined with softer material such as grass, moss, plant fibers, and feathers.

Conservation

Conservation Status

Attempts at extermination in the past have included dynamiting of winter roosts. However, the American Crow remains abundant and is increasingly adapting to life in towns and even cities.

Change in Abundance Over Time

Drawing on more than a century of community science from the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), this chart shows how this species’ relative abundance has shifted in recent decades. Explore more and get involved in the CBC.

Climate Map

Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect the range of the American Crow. Learn even more in Audubon’s Survival By Degrees project.

Climate Threats Facing the American Crow

Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.

Explore More

Murals, Art, and Culture

Artists throughout history and across the U.S. have captured this bird in murals, books, and museum hangings. See what they’ve done: