Corvus brachyrhynchos

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Corvidae

A Family of passerine songbirds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies and nutcrackers. Corvids are medium to large birds with strong feet and bills, rictal bristles and a single moult each year.

Physical Description

Habitat

The Common Crow is an opportunist that has been able to occupy a number of habitats , including coastal areas, towns, fields , and the edge of forests . The Common Crow is found throughout North America except in deserts, deep thickets, and on mountain tops. Its most common habitats are woodlands, farms , fields, river groves, shores and towns.

Vegetation: arid lowland scrubs, pastures and agricultural lands, gallery forests, tropical lowland evergreen forest, second-growth forests and woodlands • Foraging Strata: Canopy • Center of Abundance: Lower subtropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; subtropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Ecology:
List of Habitats :1.6Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland 14.2Artificial/Terrestrial - Pastureland 14.6Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest

Biology

Diet

The crow is omnivorus. Its diet includes wild fruit, snail, salamanders, grain, small birds, mice, eggs , toads, corn, large quantites of insects and carrion . Around coastal areas, crows display behavior similar to that of gulls, taking clams and mussels and dropping them from heights to crack open the shells . They then swoop down to ingest the soft contents. Adult crows eat their weight in food every day, dividing the feedings between eight to ten full meals .

Reproduction

Courtship of the common crow takes place on the ground or in trees . It begins when the male faces the female and fluffs its body feathers . Then he partially spreads his wings and tail and proceeds to bow repeatedly while uttering a brief rattling song. Once a male and female have mated, they perch together and may touch bills and preen each other's feathers.

Common crows also demonstrate cooperative breeding. A breeding pair may have a helper or helpers who aide them in all aspects of nesting. The helpers and the mated pair participate in the parental duties of caring for the offspring.

Both males and females help in the construction of nests , which are frequently placed in heights up to 75 feet; a common location is the tops of trees. If trees are not available, they will build a nest on the ground. The nest is typically twelve inches in diameter and is made of twigs , grasses, and tree bark. Three to seven eggs are laid by the female. The eggs are dull blue-green to grey-green blotched with grey and brown markings. Both parents sit on the eggs for an incubation period of eighteen days. The young are born blind and flesh colored . After about five days, their eyes open for the first time. At five weeks of age the fledglings are ready to make their first flight.

• Nest Location: Mid-story/canopy nesting
• Clutch Size: 3-8
• Length of Incubation : 18 days
• Days to Fledge : 28-35
• Number of Broods: 1, 2 in south

Migration

The common crow is a very intelligent, adaptable, and opportunistic . Recent studies by ornithologists show that crows and ravens are among the most intelligent birds, along with other members of the Corvidae . Crows gather in groups from two to eight birds in the summer, while during the winter they gather from many miles in great nocturnal roosts of up to thousands of birds. During the day they fly up to fifty miles away from these roosts in search of food. During feeding, one of two crows can be seen on high perched places serving as a lookout for the rest of the flock. These sentinels watch for signs of danger and warn the rest of the flock. This behavior allows the rest of the flock to forage more efficiently.

The crow's call has varations that allow it to express warning, threats , taunting, and cheer.

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Corvus brachyrhynchos Brehm, 1822

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

The Common Raven tends to be larger (20-27 inches) than the Common Crow. The Crow's call is a "caw-caw" or "caa-caa" sound, while the Raven's call is a varied, deep, guttural croaking, "wonk-wonk". Crows have fan-shaped tails; Ravens have wedged-shaped tails. Crows have a steady flapping flight; Ravens may soar.

The Fish Crow tends to be smaller than the Common Crow(17 inches), with a call that sounds like a nasal "kwak" or a nasal two noted "ah-ah."

Members of the genus Corvus

There are approximately 176 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

C. affinis · C. alba · C. albicollis (White-Naped Raven) · C. albus · C. americana · C. azureus · C. bacmeisteri · C. benetti · C. bennetti · C. boreus · C. brachyrhynchos (American Crow) · C. brachyrhynchos brachyrhnchos (American Crow) · C. brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos · C. brachyrhynchos caurinus · C. brachyrhynchos hesperis · C. brachyrhynchos pascuus · C. brachyrhynchos paulus (American Crow) · C. c. corax · C. caledonicus · C. capellanus · C. capensis · C. caurinus (Northwestern Crow) · C. corax (Common Raven) · C. corax canariensis · C. corax clarionensis (Common Raven) · C. corax corax (Common Raven) · C. corax dardaniensis · C. corax islandicus · C. corax jordansi · C. corax kamtschaticus · C. corax kretae · C. corax laurencei · C. corax laurenci (Common Raven) · C. corax principalis (Common Raven) · C. corax sinuatus (Common Raven) · C. corax ssp · C. corax subcorax · C. corax tibetanus · C. corax tingitanus · C. corax varius · C. cornix · C. cornix cornix · C. cornix kaukasicus · C. cornix pallescens · C. cornix sharpii · C. cornix syriacus · C. corone · C. corone capellanus · C. corone cornix · C. corone corone · C. corone coronix · C. corone interpositus · C. corone orientalis · C. corone sardonius · C. corone sharpii · C. corone ssp · C. corone x · C. corone; cornix · C. coronoides · C. coronoides coronoides · C. coronoides inoptatus · C. coronoides perplexus · C. crassirostris · C. cryptoleucus (Chihuahuan Raven) · C. culminatus · C. dauuricus · C. difficilis · C. edithae · C. enca · C. enca celebensis · C. enca compilator · C. enca pusillus · C. f. hilgerti · C. florensis (Flores Crow) · C. frugilegus · C. frugilegus frugilegus (Rook) · C. frugilegus pastinator · C. frugileus · C. fuscicapillus (Brown-Headed Crow) · C. hassi · C. hawaiiensis (Hawaiian Crow) · C. hungaricus · C. iliceti · C. imparatus (Mexican Crow) · C. impluviatus · C. infumatus · C. insolens · C. insularis · C. jamaicensis · C. kubaryi (Mariana Crow) · C. latirostris · C. leucognaphalus (White-Necked Crow) · C. levaillanti · C. levaillantii · C. macrohynchos · C. macrorhynchos · C. macrorhynchos colonorum · C. macrorhynchos connectens · C. macrorhynchos culminatus · C. macrorhynchos intermedius

Bibliography

• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 04, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 13 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 04, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
• Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Birds
• Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 1981-1985
• Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: North West Territories and Nunavut Bird Checklist, Canada
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Royal British Columbia Museum
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates: Bird Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Bay of Fundy Species List (OBIS Canada)
• Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Ornithology Collection
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3847179
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-179735
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13820743
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179731
• IUCN ID: 51158
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPAV10010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 21

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