Crow

Crow facts at a glance

How big is a crow?

An adult crow measures 50 cm long — about 29% of the height of an average adult person (1.73 m) — and weighs around 500 g, about 1% of an average adult’s body weight (70 kg).

What is a group of crows called?

Explore more animal collective nouns and baby animal names .

Intelligence and problem-solving

Crows are among the smartest animals on the planet, with problem-solving abilities that rival those of some primates. They fashion and use simple tools, remember individual human faces for years, and can hold what looks like a grudge against people who have threatened them. Captive and wild birds have both been recorded dropping hard-shelled nuts onto roads so that passing cars crack them open, then waiting for a safe gap in traffic to retrieve the food.

Diet and foraging

The crow is a true generalist, eating grain, insects, earthworms, carrion, eggs, small animals, and human scraps. This flexible menu is a big reason the species thrives everywhere from remote fields to busy city centres. Crows cache surplus food, hiding it under leaves or in bark crevices to recover later, and they watch other birds closely to steal from poorly hidden stores. Around rubbish bins and car parks they have learned to exploit almost any edible waste people leave behind.

Family life and roosts

Crows are highly social and often live in extended family groups, with young from previous years helping their parents raise the next brood. Outside the breeding season, thousands may gather at communal night roosts, streaming in from miles around at dusk. These roosts offer safety in numbers and may help birds share information about good feeding sites. Family members preen one another and defend a shared territory throughout the year.

Communication and calls

The familiar harsh "caw" is only part of a crow's vocabulary, which includes rattles, clicks, and surprisingly soft, musical notes. Crows use different calls to raise the alarm, rally the group, or scold a predator, and they can recognise the individual voices of their relatives. When a hawk, owl, or cat appears, a mob of crows will gather to harass it noisily until it moves on. Some birds even mimic other species and mechanical sounds.

Range and adaptability

American crows are found across most of North America, absent only from the far north and the driest deserts. They readily colonise farmland, woodland edges, suburbs, and city parks, and their numbers have grown as they exploit human landscapes. Crows are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, reflecting a large and stable population. The species did suffer local declines from West Nile virus, but populations have largely recovered.

Did you know? Crow facts

• The American crow is a large, all-black bird and one of the most intelligent animals on Earth, capable of using tools, solving puzzles, and recognising individual human faces.
• A group of crows is famously called a murder. Crows are highly social and also gather in huge communal roosts, and a baby crow is called a chick.
• Yes. Crows are among the smartest animals, using tools, solving multi-step problems, planning ahead, and recognising individual human faces for years, remembering those who have threatened them.
• Ravens are larger than crows, with shaggy throat feathers, a heavier curved bill, and a wedge-shaped tail. Ravens give a deep croak, while crows make a sharper, higher cawing call.
• Yes. Studies show crows recognise and remember specific human faces, react to people who have harmed them, and can pass that information to other crows, so a whole local group may scold a remembered threat.
• Conservation: Least Concern (IUCN).

Diet & feeding

Crow feeds primarily as a omnivore (grain, insects, carrion, scraps). Crows are corvids, ranking among the most intelligent of all animals. They use and even shape simple tools, drop hard-shelled food onto roads for cars to crack, and plan ahead for future needs. Crows also recognise and remember individual human faces

Adaptations

• Crows are corvids, ranking among the most intelligent of all animals. They use and even shape simple tools, drop hard-shelled food onto roads for cars to crack, and plan ahead for future needs. Crows also recognise and remember individual human faces for years, holding grudges against people who have threatened them and passing that wariness on to other crows.
• Crows are highly social and communicate with a wide vocabulary of caws and rattles. Families often stay together, with older offspring helping to raise the next brood — a behaviour called cooperative breeding. Outside the breeding season, crows gather in enormous communal roosts that can number in the tens of thousands, especially in winter and near towns.

Behaviour & ecology

• Crows are corvids, ranking among the most intelligent of all animals. They use and even shape simple tools, drop hard-shelled food onto roads for cars to crack, and plan ahead for future needs. Crows also recognise and remember individual human faces for years, holding grudges against people who have threatened them and passing that wariness on to other crows.
• Crows are highly social and communicate with a wide vocabulary of caws and rattles. Families often stay together, with older offspring helping to raise the next brood — a behaviour called cooperative breeding. Outside the breeding season, crows gather in enormous communal roosts that can number in the tens of thousands, especially in winter and near towns.
• As opportunistic omnivores, crows eat grain, fruit, insects, small animals, eggs, carrion, and human food waste. This flexible diet, paired with their intelligence, lets them thrive almost anywhere, from farmland to busy city centres. They are bold scavengers and quick to exploit new food sources.

Communication

• Crow uses calls and visual displays to communicate territory, alarm, and breeding status.
• Vocal repertoires vary by species and are often learned or refined during development.

Habitat & range

Farmland, woodland, parks, cities

Ecological role

Crow contributes to seed dispersal, insect control, or nutrient cycling depending on diet and foraging habits.

Conservation status of the Crow

Sources & references

This guide is compiled and reviewed against established zoological and conservation references. Key sources for the Crow:

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

  Conservation status (Least Concern) reflects the IUCN Red List category for Corvus brachyrhynchos.

• iNaturalist — observations & photos

  Search citizen-science observations and community IDs for Corvus brachyrhynchos. Useful for range checks and recent sightings — not a substitute for formal Red List status.

• GBIF — occurrence data

  Global Biodiversity Information Facility species search for Corvus brachyrhynchos. Explore published occurrence records used in range research.

• eBird — bird observations

  Cornell Lab eBird target search for Crow. Check recent checklists and seasonal abundance where birders report this species.

• IUCN Red List — Corvus brachyrhynchos.

  Conservation status (Least Concern) and population trends.

• Animal Diversity Web — Corvus brachyrhynchos. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

  Life history, morphology, and range.

• Wikipedia — Crow.

  General taxonomy and overview (cross-check primary sources).

• Global Animal Guide editorial standards

  How we research, source, review, and update every guide for accuracy.