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I agree with other great answers here! It's certainly hard to see how this familial and larger communal system -- in addition to the option to establish new territory as other birds do -- wouldn't benefit up-and-coming breeders for choice as well as providing opportunities to strengthen and sharpen skills for success while they might wait for an opening.
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It may be easier for crows because they have two options. They can look for new territory and may get lucky or if not they can always go home. For other birds their only option is to look for new territory and there is not an option to be accepted back into a group.
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easier, as they have more support from their family
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none
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Easier.Because they have more choices than other birds.
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agree
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I’d say that it would be easier due to American Crows having more options available to them, in terms of territories.
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What is the average size of a crow's territory?
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varies
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All in all, I think crows have an easier time to become a breeder. Between their longevity and lack of long distance migration, they have more time and energy to breed during their lifespan.
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those attributes do help make becoming a breeder easier.
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Although crows may have to wait their turn, it may be easier due to the variety of options available to them as compared to other birds.
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this is true
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Easier, because they have many more choices than other birds.
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Easier because they have more choices than other birds.
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There are more options for them to become breeders but they need to wait longer. Also, by the time they could be breeders there is a lot of competition,
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It seems that since they have more choices than other birds, they would have an easier time. But, with the competition, and disproportionate mortality of males and females, maybe it’s not so easy.
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Easier time as more options for breeding spots.
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possibly their system, with added, options givesthem a little more success in breeding
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Easier time because they can inherit a territory rather than fighting for one
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I'm not sure what percentage of crows eventually breed compared to other birds. Crows live longer than many songbirds, so going to breeding "college" with familial support seems like an advantage. Whereas the local Chickadee only lives a few years and needs to breed in the first one.
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The system looks very complex looking at it from afar, but to crows this system provides many opportunities to breed with other crows where other birds would fail. Crows are very plentiful birds as it is, and their system likely contributes to their high numbers.
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I think that crows have an easier time breeding than other birds because they interact with each other so frequently. That gives them a higher chance to find a mate, and possibly find a nesting site with another crow.
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Crows should have a harder time because they have more structure to support. If they were only territorial for a small part of a year, then their activities the rest of the time would be simply seeking food and safety. However, they are engaged in a full time job with feeding siblings, seeking adjacent groups to join (or not) or establishing new territory. There's no time for just hanging out. So the options to be a breeder are varied, but very structured, making it more difficult to get established in a long term relationship with a mate and the crow community at large.
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As I think about it, it appears that crows have advantages and disadvantages. The female crows seem to have the most disadvantages because they ususally do not inherit a territory, only the males do. The female only gets to inherit a territory if the matriarch of the family dies.
Since crows usually take three years to mature before they mate, it would seem that it is more difficult for them to find a mating partner than other birds. Yet, because crows mate with cousins and/or siblings that would appear to make the mating possibilities easier. I wonder if those crows that mate with siblings have shorter life spans and/or they more vulnerable to disease?
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I think an easier time. As long the individual birds are patient (willing to wait 2 or more years before trying to breed), they have many options as to where they will breed and with whom. It all helps with the end result - successful breeding each year.
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I think that the several options crows have due to their social structure most likely makes it easier for them to become a breeder than most other birds. However, it may be very difficult for them to find new territories if a particular crow opts to go that route.
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Because of the family dynamics compared to other birds they are more likely to succeed in successfully breeding.
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I think finding breeding territory may be more difficult to find. But with the social structure and support of family groups I believe there may be higher success rates for breeding and off spring. This of course would be a case by case family by family situation.
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I would like to think that crows have an easier time because they have time and ‘home’ at their disposal.
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It seems that Crows have a somewhat easier time getting to be a breeder with all the options available to them. However, if you happen to be the only female juvenile bird in a family of males bird siblings your chances of getting to be a breeder seems more difficult since the males are dominate over the females.
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