HABITAT AND RANGE:
American Crows are native to the
Nearctic region all over North America.
They can be found in the lower part of
Canada and through the continental
United States. Crows prefer to live in
open areas with some nearby trees or in
suburban neighborhoods and rural parks.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Adult American crows are completely
black birds weighing on average 450 g.
The feathers have a glossy and slightly
iridescent look. Crows have strong legs
and toes, a black bill with a slight
hook on the end and stiff bristles
covering their nostrils. Young crows are
about the same size as adults, but have
blue eyes and pink inside the mouth.
Both the eyes and mouth darken as the
bird becomes an adult. In young birds,
the ends of tail feathers are
symmetrical and are more pointed than
the wide, flat-ended feathers of adults.
Crows are much smaller than the bird
that they are most often compared to,
the Raven. Crows sometimes show an
apparent wedge shape to the tail, but
almost never when it is fanned as the
bird soars or banks (except for a brief
time during molt in the summer).
ADAPTATIONS:
American Crows have an unusual social
system - they are cooperative breeders.
This means that they may stay close to
the place where they were born to help
raise young and defend the area against
predators. Some American Crows migrate.
Researchers have found marked crows from
southeastern Michigan as far south as
Tennessee, but more often migrants go
shorter distances. American Crows engage
in a fascinating behavior called anting.
A crow will position itself over an
anthill and allow ants to scramble among
its feathers, or it may pick up an ant
and smear its feathers with it. It’s
believed that there is a chemical in the
ants that helps to condition the Crow’s
feathers. American Crows are highly
vocal birds. Unlike most other
songbirds, males and females Crows have
the same songs. They have a complex
system of loud, harsh caws that are
often uttered in repetitive rhythmic
series. Crows have shorter and sharp
caws for an alarm and softer caws,
probably used for greeting.
DIET:
Crows are omnivores and will eat almost
anything, from bugs and small animals,
to road kill or people’s garbage.
American Crows store food items such as
meat and nuts in short-term caches.
Caches are hiding places that are
scattered around, rather than in one
place. They may be in tree crevices or
on the ground, where they are often
covered with leaves or other material.
Crows forage primarily by walking on the
ground and picking up the item, or by
walking along tree branches. Crows use
tools to get what they want as well.
They will hold a nut under one foot and
strike it with its bill to open it. To
open a particularly heavy-shelled food
item a crow will fly high with it and
drop it on a hard surface to crack it
open.
REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT:
Nests are usually built, in one to two
weeks, by both males and females high in
a sturdy conifer or hardwood tree.
Females lay 4 to 5 light green colored
eggs with brown markings. The female
incubates her eggs for 19 days. While
she is sitting on the nest, the female
will beg for food like a baby bird, and
her mate will bring it to her. The young
will leave the nest in 6 to 8 weeks.
Most American crows reach sexual
maturity and begin to breed when they
are two years old. Most crows do not
live a full year, however they can live
17 to 21 years, the oldest wild crow was
29 ½ years old, breeders have a 93%
yearly survival, on average females are
slightly older than 3 years and males
are almost 5 years old when they first
breed. Crows can mate for life.
STATUS IN WILD:
Crows have no special status in the
wild.
