Large, black bird with dark, stout bill, iridescent violet gloss on body, and
blue-black wings. Tail is fan-shaped in flight. Eats insects, small invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles and mammals,
eggs and young of other birds, grains, fruits, refuse, and carrion.
Steady direct flight.

AMERICAN CROW
Corvus brachyrhynchos
PASSERIFORMES
Crows and Jays (Corvidae)

Range and Habitat
Breeds from British Columbia, central interior Canada, and Newfoundland south to southern California, the Gulf Coast, and Florida. Usually winters north to southern Canada. Preferred habitats include woodlands, farms, fields, river groves, shorelines, and towns.

SOUND: "caw, caw, caw", "caa-caa"

The American Crow has been greatly affected by the recent introduction of West Nile virus to North America.
An infected bird will die in less than a week. In some areas the loss of crows has been substantial.

A crow will stand over an anthill and allow the ants to
climb onto its feathers. One theory is that this allows the
ants to discharge their formic acid, thus making them more palatable to the crow.

They have been taught to mimic the human voice.
They can count and work out solutions to simple
problems and are fascinated with and collect shiny objects
such as rings, keys and foil.

A group of crows has many collective nouns,
including a "cauldron", "congress", "horde",
"murder", and "muster" of crows.

The American Crow is native to Mexico, Canada and the United States. This bird has been seen in Saint Pierre as well. The large range of this species of bird is believed to be as much as 11 million kilometers. In terms of population, the American Crow is thought to be quite significant and include as many as 31 million individual birds. There is currently no reason to think that the population of the American Crow will decline soon.