| It has been aptly stated that if a person knows only three kinds of birds, the Crow will be one of them. No other bird has been the subject of more heated controversy and none has been more violently persecuted. Nevertheless, the Crow has been able to outwit its human adversaries and maintain its existence in all parts of its wide range. Crows exhibit a high degree of intelligence and communicate effectively with one another concerning a hunter waiting in ambush or advertising a new food source. It was once remarked that if people wore feathers and had wings, few would be clever enough to be crows!
The Crow is one of the most adaptable of birds, eating almost anything. Farmers often hate them as they sometimes eat newly sprouted corn, but they also eat large numbers of mice, grasshoppers and cutworms. Like all general feeders they eat whatever is most abundant and easiest to obtain and the diet can include carrion, bird eggs, nestlings, fruits and nuts. Along the coastlines they will also eat mollusks that they break open by dropping on rocks from high above.
The breeding habitat consists of woodlands, farmlands, and suburban areas and it is almost impossible to go into the countryside without observing these birds. The breeding range stretches throughout Canada below the tree line and across the United States except for the southern part of Texas and Arizona. The bird retreats from most of Canada during the winter.
The crow has always been one of my favorite birds and over the years I have studied most segments of its life history. How dull the outdoors would be without that emphatic 'caw-caw!' Their vocabularies are extensive and many attempts have been made to interpret their various calls and notes. They frequently engage in active vocal harassment of potential enemies such as Great Horned Owls and Red-tailed Hawks. Anyone familiar with crow behavior can usually guess the source of annoyance just by the intensity and type of notes. Pet Crows often mimic human voices and they have the unusual habit of carrying off and hiding brightly colored or shiny objects.
During courtship the male turns and dives in pursuit of the female. On the ground the male puffs out is chest and spreads his wings and tail bowing several times as he sings a "rattling" song. If successful the pair will perch next to each other and preen.
A clutch consists of 4 to 6 dull green eggs, spotted with brown laid in a mass of twigs and sticks lined with feathers and other fine materials. The eggs are incubated for about 18 days by the female while the male brings food. The young leave the nest in 28 to 35 days. Yearlings will often help their parents care for the young in the subsequent year. Although they are noisy most of the time the become silent when around the nest.
Length 17 to 21 inches
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