Bird name:

American Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Crows and Jays (Corvidae)

Code 4

AMCR

Code 6

CORBRA

ITIS

179731

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Open landscapes, Grassland with scattered trees, Streams, upland

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Abundant

Egg Color:

Blue green to olive green with dark markings

Number of Eggs:

3 - 7

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Branches and twigs., Lined with tree material, grass, feathers, moss, and hair.

Migration:

Some migrate

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General

American Crow: Large, black bird with dark, stout bill, iridescent violet gloss on body, and blue-black wings. Tail is fan-shaped in flight. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

American Crow: Breeds from British Columbia, central interior Canada, and Newfoundland south to southern California, the Gulf Coast, and Florida. Usually winters north to southern Canada. Preferred habitats include woodlands, farms, fields, river groves, shorelines, and towns.

Breeding and Nesting

American Crow: Three to seven blue green to olive green eggs with dark markings are laid in a large nest made of twigs and sticks lined with feathers, grass, plant material, and rootlets. Nest is built in a tree or shrub, up to 100 feet above the ground. May use cross posts of utility poles as a nest site; in prairies, nests may be built on the ground. Nest is built by both parents, sometimes with the help of extra birds. Both parents incubate eggs for about 18 days. Young stay in nest 4 to 5 weeks before fledging.

Foraging and Feeding

American Crow: Diet includes fruits, snails, salamanders, grain, small birds, mice, eggs, toads, corn, insects, and carrion. Around coastal areas, crows display behavior similar to that of gulls, taking clams and mussels and dropping them from heights to crack open shells.

Readily Eats

Cracked Corn, Peanuts

Vocalization

American Crow: Although there are many variations, makes a familiar "caw-caw" or "caa-caa."

Similar Species

American Crow: Fish Crow is smaller, has more pointed wings, a more slender bill, longer tail, and different call. Northwestern Crow has a separate range. Common Raven is much larger with heavy, stout bill, shaggy throat feathers, wedge-shaped tail, and different call.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America