Episode 85: American Crow – Voice of the Wild

This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”

This adaptable and social omnivore will of course enjoy the natural scavengings found in the wild, but has also learned that A busy city can suit them just fine; it affords them special access to high-calorie urban gleanings like scraps of fast food and trash. I once found one eating hot Cheetos right out of a discarded bag. This is the American crow.

The “caaw” of a crow is distinctive, but be alert for raven-like croaks or a young crow’s nasal "caaw"; it can sometimes tricks new birders into thinking they’ve found a fish crow. These are typically only found along the coast or on the Mississippi river while the American crow can be found all throughout us and Canada. In winter, crows form large and highly social roosts, often in urban areas. One such roost in Danville Illinois was, in the late 90’s, the world’s largest. It topped out around 300,000 birds before tapering off to just a few thousand in the mid 2010’s. It’s unknown what brought all those birds together, but for a time in east-central Illinois, the skies were blackened by the wingbeats of thousands of crows.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW