American Crow

American crows, Corvus brachyrhynchos, have been busy in town recently. I have seen them roosting in large flocks in the bare cottonwood trees and feeding on the ground in large numbers.  I'm not sure what they are finding in the barren brown grass, but these omnivores eat just about anything.  I enjoy watching their stiff-legged gait as they move about the ground.

Several times at work today, when I looked out the window, I saw crows flying by.  They were often in pairs, but once I watched a group of about twenty fly past.  No, looking out the window at work is not slacking.  It's practicing my observational skills.

Crows are often thought of as black, but if you really look at a crow's feathers in the sunlight, you can often see shiny green and purple hues.  I wish I could see what these birds look like to one another in the wavelengths of light that we can't see.  It's probably pretty fantastic.  Here is a better photo, taken when the grass was still green, in which a hint of color can be noted.

I have often seen crows in the middle of the road, eating up some poor car-smushed critter, but, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, "despite its tendency to eat roadkill, the American Crow is not specialized to be a scavenger, and carrion is only a very small part of its diet. Though their bills are large, crows can’t break through the skin of even a gray squirrel. They must wait for something else to open a carcass or for the carcass to decompose and become tender enough to eat."  Crows will often eat pet food left outdoors and garbage.  They like to make sure they're not missing something good in local city park trash bins.

Crows and ravens can be difficult to tell apart, but I have learned a few helpful tricks.  First of all, ravens rarely visit cities, so the townies are likely crows.  Ravens are bigger birds with thicker bills.  They can soar more easily than crows, who tend to flap their wings a lot.  If you see large black birds in the air, the one with the fanned tail is the crow.  A raven's tail is wedge-shaped.

Crows are social, roosting in big colonies in the wintertime and also maintaining extended family ties.  Young crows often stay around their parents for a few years, helping feed and protect younger siblings before going off to find their own mates. 

This species is very susceptible to West Nile virus, which could potentially cause the population to decrease.  I hope their numbers are not reduced too much, because it is encouraging to see a native bird that has adapted so well to human landscape.  They are intelligent; you can see it in the way they almost analytically eye your approach.  They have shown an ability to fashion and use tools.  I read an article once that they can even recognize faces, so be sure not to antagonize a neighborhood crow, or you might just find yourself dive bombed the next time you go outside.