Overview

The American crow is the large, all-black bird of American fields, towns, and treetops — cawing, clever, and far more sophisticated than folklore gives it credit for. Crows solve problems, use tools, and gather silently around dead crows in behaviour that looks uncannily like mourning.

Ubiquitous across the lower 48, they're a baseline common — but spend time watching a family group and you'll see coordinated feeding, mobbing of hawks, and play that reveals genuine intelligence.

Habitat

American crows live across the entire continental United States in farmland, woodland, coast, and cities. They roost in large communal groups in winter — sometimes tens of thousands in a single wood — and nest in trees near food sources.

Countries found

American Crow in United States

Interesting facts

01
American crows hold 'funerals' — gathering silently around dead crows.
02
They can remember human faces for years and teach their offspring who to avoid.
03
Crows use tools — bending wire into hooks to extract food from tubes.
04
A group of crows is called a murder — family groups stay together for years.
05
They mob raptors collectively — small birds join crow harassment parties.
06
Their varied calls include distinct alarm, contact, and flight calls.

Conservation status

LC — Least Concern

American crows are Least Concern and abundant across North America. West Nile virus caused significant regional declines in the early 2000s but populations have largely recovered.