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Fish Crow, Core Banks, North Carolina, 2014. Photo by Jarek Tuszynski. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

fish crow

Corvus ossifragus

Identification: 
This all-black bird is very hard to distinguish visually from an American Crow.  It is slightly smaller and somewhat shorter legged than the American Crow, but that’s not much help when the bird is sitting high in a tree.  The key to telling the Fish Crow is its call: a very nasal sounding “uh, uh.”  Some liken this sound to an American Crow with a cold.  By contrast, the American Crow’s loud “Caw!” is much sharper and brighter sounding. 

Behavior:
Fish Crows are  highly social and have even been observed in play with objects.   They “mob” raptors along with their American Crow cousins.  They are omnivorous and a major nest predator, taking eggs and even young nestling birds; they raid turtle nests too.  Their major habitat is shorelines, but in recent decades their range has expanded considerably and now they breed in interior agricultural and suburban lands.  They nest high in trees.

What brings it to the SBG?
Food, cover, nesting sites.  These crows are well adapted to living among humans, so not only the SBG habitat proper but likely the surrounding suburbs and countryside attract the Fish Crow. 

When can I see it?
Year-round.