American Crow

About the American Crow

Familiar to almost everyone, the American Crow is a large, all-black bird with a stout bill, a fan-shaped tail, and a voice everyone knows - the harsh, repeated caw. Glossy and intelligent, it is among the most adaptable and clever of birds, quick to learn, to solve problems, and to remember individual human faces.

American Crows are the ultimate omnivores, eating insects, seeds, grain, fruit, eggs, small animals, carrion, and scraps, and they are highly social - foraging in family groups and gathering into large communal roosts, sometimes of thousands, in winter.

In Texas the American Crow is a common resident of the eastern, central, and northern parts of the state, at home in farmland, woods, towns, and city parks alike.

A note from behind the lens: crows are smart and wary, so they make you work. Their glossy black plumage needs light to show its purple-and-blue sheen and keep the eye from disappearing - aim for a bird in soft, even light against an uncluttered background, and be patient with their caution.