Species guide
American Crow: how to recognise it
A bird of North America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Jacob McGinnis · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Corvus brachyrhynchos
- Family
- Crows, Jays, and Magpies
- Size
- About 45 cm
- Habitat
- Fields, towns and woods
- Found in
- North America
The key marks
Smaller, with a fan-shaped tail and a thinner bill. Common Raven has a wedge-shaped tail and a shaggy throat.
Voice
A familiar 'caw'.
Good to know
Families stay together and the young help raise their siblings.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Common Raven. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in fields, towns and woods. It is especially common in Canada. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.