American Crow Facts

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Everyone has seen crows before. But did you know that crows are some of the smartest birds in the world? Crows are so smart that they can tell each other things using the "caw" sounds that they make. By changing the sounds they make, crows can warn each other of dangerous animals they see. They can threaten other crows, or make fun of them, or they can cheer for them. Sometimes other animals are able to understand what the crows saying and run away from the dangerous animals the crows see.

What they look like: You probably know what crows look like. They are black birds that are about 18 inches long (that’s a little longer than a box of Cheeri-Os). On a bright sunny day, crows sometimes look dark purple. Sometimes people think that crows are ravens, but crows have thinner beaks than ravens, and are a lot smaller.

Where they live: Crows live in many different places. They like to live in open places because if dangerous animals are nearby, the crows can see them better. Some places crows live are on beaches, in farm fields, in orchards, in woods that are near water, and in neighborhoods like yours. Crows build their nests in trees, bushes, and on telephone poles. Their nests are shaped like a cup and are made of twigs. A mother crow will lay about 5 eggs in her nest and sit on them for 18 days. While she’s sitting on them, the father crow will get food for her. Both the mother and the father will take care of the baby crows when they are born. The young crows can fly after about 4 weeks. After about 8 weeks, they may leave the area and look for a new place to live.

What they eat: Crows like to eat in places where there are not a lot of trees. Sometimes, crows will help each other look for food. Crows like to eat bugs and small animals like mice. They also like to eat grains like wheat and corn, and sometimes they will eat animals that have died. Crows aren’t too picky - they’ll eat just about anything they can catch!