American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Also called crow.
Separating crow from raven is the commonest question in the group, and it is answered by the tail in flight: a crow's is fanned and square, a raven's is a wedge.
- Size
- Crow to duck — 40–50 cm
- Bill
- Short and conical
- Where
- yard, open field, city, woodland
- Season
- year round
What it looks like
Entirely black including bill, legs and eyes, with a fan-shaped tail and a slight gloss. Bulky but not heavy-billed.
The checks that confirm it
- Fan-shaped tail with a squared or slightly rounded end in flight.
- Steady, even wingbeats — crows flap and rarely soar.
- A smooth throat without shaggy feathers.
- Calls a clear 'caw'.
Voice
A clean, evenly-pitched 'caw caw caw'.
Attracting it
Peanuts in the shell on open ground. Crows recognise individual human faces and remember them for years.
Confused with
Wedge-shaped tail, much heavier bill, shaggy throat feathers, soars regularly, and croaks rather than caws.
Far smaller, iridescent, yellow-eyed, with a long keeled tail.
Questions about this bird
How do you identify a american crow?
Fan-shaped tail with a squared or slightly rounded end in flight. Steady, even wingbeats — crows flap and rarely soar.
What does a american crow sound like?
A clean, evenly-pitched 'caw caw caw'.
How do you attract a american crow?
Peanuts in the shell on open ground. Crows recognise individual human faces and remember them for years.