Fish Crow
Corvus ossifragus
Description
17" (43 cm). All black, somewhat
smaller than American Crow, but size is deceptive in the field. Best
told by voice.
Voice
Two calls, both distinct from the American
Crow's familiar caw-a nasal kwok and a nasal, two-noted ah-ah. In
breeding season, young American Crows have a similar kwok
call.
Habitat
Low coastal country, near tidewater and
pine barrens in North; in South, also lakes, rivers, and swamps far
inland.
Nesting
4 or 5 greenish eggs, with brown
blotches, in a stick nest lined with pine needles, grass, hair, or
bark flakes and placed in an evergreen or deciduous tree.
Range
Resident on Atlantic Coast from
Massachusetts and extreme southern New England south to Florida, and
along Gulf Coast west to Texas; also inland along larger rivers
north to Illinois. Some northern birds migrate south in
winter.
Discussion
Many coastal heronries have attendant
Fish Crows, ever ready to plunder the heron nests for eggs.
Omnivorous feeders, like all crows, they also consume corn, insects,
lizards, wild and cultivated fruits, and often carrion and dead
fish-hence the name.
