The American Crow is a large passerine bird species of the Corvidae family. It is a common bird found throughout North America. Entirely black in color, it is an easily recognized bird.
American Crows have a lifespan of 7 to 8 years. The most usual call is a loud, short, and rapid 'caah-caah-caah'. Usually, the birds thrust their heads up and down as they utter this call. American Crows can also produce a wide variety of sounds and sometimes mimic noises made by other animals, including other birds.
The range of the American Crow extends from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean in Canada, on the French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, south through the United States, and into northern Mexico. Virtually all types of country from wilderness, farmland, parks, open woodland to towns and major cities are inhabited. The crow is generally a permanent resident, but many birds in the northern parts of the range migrate short distances southward. Outside of the nesting season, these birds often gather in large communal roosts at night.
The American Crow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
The American Crow is a common species across much of the United States, where they are year-round residents. Their summer range extends into Canada. American Crows are known to be highly intelligent. Scientists believe part of this is their ability to communicate with one another. They... Read more »
