How often are we driving down the road when we suddenly spot a freshly killed wild critter right in the middle of the highway, and two or three large black birds are enjoying a fresh meal?
Sometimes those large blackbirds are about the size of a wild turkey, and we quickly identify them as the common Turkey Buzzard, but more often than not, what we see is the common crow.
Most of the time we are probably correct in our identification but be aware that the common crow is a member of the Corvidae family, and here in Pennsylvania we actually have three species in this family — the Common Crow, Common Raven, and the Fish Crow.
We are most familiar with the Common Crow, which is the most conspicuous and best known of these larger black birds.
As you already know, crows have adapted well to our human activities, and they don’t seem to mind living amongst us.
Crows are found year-round in Pennsylvania, and flocks are known to range up to 30 miles in a day searching for food. We may think that their food source is only those dead animals, but crows also feed on grasshoppers, caterpillars, grubs, worms, most any insects, and grain, fruit, and the eggs and young of other birds.
Some other things about crows that you may not have realized are that they have extremely keen senses of sight and hearing.
What’s interesting is that they are very wary, and when they are feeding, they will usually post a sentry. These sentry birds watch for danger and, if necessary, alert the feeding birds with a sharp alarm caw.
Something else I found interesting about crows is that they can be very curious, and shiny objects often grab their attention. Crows have been known to fly off with bits of glass in their bills, but they also pick up rings, keys, and other small bits of metal. If you lost your keys in the driveway, you may want to see what the local crows are carrying around in their beaks.
What a lot of people may not be aware of is that we also have another species of crow, and that’s the Fish Crow. In Pennsylvania, the Fish Crow is found mostly along the Susquehanna River, including the West Branch. The main reason it is found along the Susquehanna River is that, as the name implies, it feeds mainly on fish or small crabs. While all black like the Common Crow, the Fish Crow is somewhat smaller than the Common Crow, although that may not always be obvious when spotted in the wild.
The third member of the crow family that lives here in Pennsylvania is the Common Raven. This crow member is less common, as it is seen far less often, since it is mainly found in the mountainous north-central region of the state.
The Common Raven favors heavily forested habitat where it feeds on rodents, insects, grain, fruit, bird eggs, and, like the crow, it also eats carrion.
In Pennsylvania, they are more often spotted feeding on a deer killed on a highway, either along Interstate 80 or north of it.
The raven differs from the crow since it is larger and has a larger, heavier beak and a wedge-shaped tail. The throat also appears shaggier because of the longer and narrower feathers.
Well, there you have the three common black crows found in Pennsylvania. While it may be difficult at times to identify which one you are actually looking at, in most cases it’s likely the Common Crow. It is interesting once in a while to catch a glimpse of one of the other crow species.
