The American crow is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America. American crows are the New World counterpart to the carrion crow and the hooded crow of Eurasia; they all occupy the same ecological niche.
Description[]
The American crow is large and stocky, measuring 17 to 21 inches, including its beak. Both the male and female are black, with a stout bill and a fan- shaped tail. Its flight is characterized by a steady flapping motion, rather than soaring. When nesting, they are surprisingly very secretive.
Distribution and habitat[]
American Crows are common birds of fields, open woodlands, and forests. They thrive around people, and you'll often find them in agricultural fields, lawns, parking lots, athletic fields, roadsides, towns, and city garbage dumps.
Behaviour[]
Often admired for their intelligence, American Crows can work together, devise solutions to problems, and recognize unusual sources of food. Some people regard this resourcefulness and sociality as an annoyance when it leads to large flocks around dumpsters, landfills, and roosting sites; others are fascinated by it.
Diet[]
Omnivorous. 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, fruit.
Breeding[]
American crows are socially monogamous cooperative breeding birds. Mated pairs form large families of up to 15 individuals from several breeding seasons that remain together for many years. Offspring from a previous nesting season will usually remain with the family to assist in rearing new nestlings.
Vocalization[]
The American Crow is not known for the beauty of its song, a series of loud caws. You may also hear crows making a “subsong”: a mixture of hoarse or grating coos, caws, rattles, and clicks. These are arranged in sequences that can be many minutes long, given quietly and with a rambling, improvised quality.
Intelligence[]
Editor's Note: Members of the crow family, known as the corvids, are among the smartest birds in the world. Some are capable of using tools, playing tricks, teaching each other new things, even holding “funerals.” And yet there's still much we don't know about these fascinating, sometimes confounding creatures.
Playful behavior[]
They play pranks, tease other animals, and engage in aerial acrobatics for fun. Crows live happily in human settlements and have found many ways to exploit the curious human trait of discarding food.
Gallery[]
