Is a blackbird part of the crow/raven family?

1. I would explain that statistically squirrels are larger predators of songbird eggs/young than crows BY FAR. I would also mention that they keep the rodent & insect population down which is great news for the ridiculous landscaping these people invest in. 2. I have a few crows that come to feed in my yard every day. There is a small murder in a nearby field and I've seen them go back to roost. Farther away, in the city, I have seen a huge murder of over 1,000 crows come back to roost and it is the most magical thing to see. 3. I live in Michigan and there are ravens only in the Upper Peninsula which is about 6 hours away. We do make a trip up there in the summer but I've never gone birdwatching there. Now I know what to look for! 4. In my little avian paradise, the crows are the old ladies who sit in the window. They see EVERYTHING and aren't afraid to alert the other birds. We feed lots of finches and doves and when the Cooper's hawk makes an appearance they alert everyone to get out of dodge.

Number 2) Live in lower Manhattan in NYC.  Have seen some fish crows in and around Battery Park.  I only know this because a guide from the Audubon Society pointed them out.  The Battery is overrun with squirrels and it does get a good amount of migrating bird stopovers.  There is also a compost heap nearby... so lot's to scavenge and forage.  Wonder  why we don't have more crows.

I live in a suburban neighborhood in the greater Los Angeles area.  There is a tall verge of trees that borders this subdivision, and it has always been home for lots of crows for many years.  They are active, noisy, and raucous, and I always wonder what they are talking about.  And I wonder if they know me from putting out birdseed.   They do alert everyone if there is a hawk or other predator in the area.  I actively feed the birds in my backyard and have tried putting out peanuts for the crows, but they never come in my yard.  The squirrels get the peanuts.  I see in the comments that many people are successful in feeding crows in their yards.   The only exception was many years ago in the spring for a few years only the crows would come in my yard, tear out the newly planted flowers from their pots and get a beak full of dirt for their nest.   I was mystified as to who was doing this until I watched one doing it.  They are very clever. They often perch on the telephone pole and the lines across the backyard, I guess as sentries, usually one at a time but sometimes a whole group.  Several years ago I was able to call my city to rescue a crow who had a foot caught up in a guy wire on the telephone pole.  I always wonder if that crow would recognize me.  I am surprised that most of my neighbors simply tune out the crows cawing.  When they are making a big fuss, I look around to see what's up and often it is something quite interesting.  At twilight they really fuss a lot and fly around as they roost and settle in for the night.  I wonder if they are telling each other about their day?

I live in Allentown PA and we've had 43" of snow during the past four weeks. It's been a harsh Winter. The attached picture was taken from my kitchen window, which is about 20' from the feeder. I now have a much greater appreciation of American Crows having taken this fine course. I know how to properly identify these birds and look for the gentle curve of their tail feathers while in flight. For a fairly large bird, I'm quite surprised how skittish they are, very much like Cardinals in that regard. I can barely get to within three feet of my kitchen window before they sense my presence and scatter in all directions. Even turning my kitchen sink faucet on will, at times, spook them. The other day, I saw one Crow with two peanuts in its mouth. I also saw six Crows patiently waiting for a squirrel to finish eating beneath my feeder. They had the squirrel completely encircled at a distance of about three feet and must have waited nearly five minutes before the squirrel raced away and scampered up an evergreen. I was surprised that they didn't rout the squirrel. I enjoy listening to the Crows talking to each other while perched atop trees that are a full city block apart. Often, their caws literally volley back and forth. A couple of years ago, I saw a badly injured squirrel that had been hit by a car laying on the shoulder of a busy road in town. The squirrel was still alive, albeit barely, but that didn't stop a Crow from pecking away at it, delighted at the prospect of eating a very fresh meal. That sight still haunts me. Nature can be cruel.

Number 3) I live in eastern Massachusetts, where American Crows are much more frequently seen than the Common Raven. However, the Common Raven is seen in certain areas occasionally. One such place where I've seen both the American Crow and Common Raven is Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord MA. Most recently, I observed a group of crows and a raven interact. It was clear to me that crows and ravens must not get along well at all based on that interaction. The raven (whom I identified by relative size to crows, tail profile, and flight behavior of more gliding than consistent flapping) was being mobbed by the crows, and at one point a crow from above dived at the raven but the raven went up-side down with talons outward and the crow diverted. It all happened very quickly but was amazing. That I could see the Raven's feet from the distance I was viewing from really gave me a good idea of how large the Common Raven really is (not that crows are small birds generally either). Regularly in this location for the past winter, I've also seen a group of about 5-10 crows mobbing a Red-Tailed Hawk that frequents the area, along with a few Bald Eagles. The instance in which I saw the crows mob the adult Bald Eagle was quite a sight as well.

I live on six acres in a wooded area near Beaufort, SC.   About 7 years ago a group of 4 crows showed up in the yard.   After about a week of watching, I started feeding them peanuts that I placed on a post in the yard.  A couple weeks later I found a nice white stone on the post.  I asked my husband if he put the stone there, he did not.   A few days later a burned piece of wood from across the road from a prescribed burned area,  was on the post.   I got so excited I started taking pictures of the presents that would show up.   This lasted for some time, but now there are no more presents on the post.   However,  the crows are now 6 in number and still arrive in the morning for a handout and a “ loud discussion” about their day.   They will sit close by on a pine limb and wait for me to put out the peanuts.  It is a ritual we both look forward to.  The crows are some of my favorite neighbors. Noel

 3) I live near the NH sea coast. I have seen both crows and ravens, and I love seeing them both! I have always thought t was amazing how intelligent the crows are. I have noticed that the ravens tend to be more aggressive than the crows, often displacing other birds in my yard when they visit. The crows will often sit in the pine trees in my backyard until the ground under our bird feeders until it is clear- then they will go grab their food! That you for that amazing video- I've learned so much already!

Hi Thanks for the interesting talk. If my neighbour complained about crows predation of song birds, I tell them about snakes and squirrels. I was curious as to why cats didn't show up on the chart. I've heard they eat hundreds of millions of song birds a year in Canada. I live half the year on Vancouver Island and half the year in Algonquin Highlands, Ontario - think lakes, balsam, white pine, silver birch forest. We have both in both places. The big difference I have noticed is that ravens tend to be solitary whereas crows flock. Also, their vocalizations are so different. In Ontario, we have lots of blue jays which dominate the feeders and intimidate the other birds except the hairy woodpecker.

About six years ago, during a hard winter, 4 crows showed up at one of my feeding stations; two adults and two juveniles.  They made it noisily clear that they needed some food and so I fed them!  So for the last six years I have fed anywhere from 4 - 50 crows an early morning snack.  And then they go away until the next day.  Yes, they are noisy but a tree full of crows is a lovely sight!  As yet, however, I have not received any gifts in return!  Still waiting!

1. I was shocked to learn that squirrels and chipmunks are way more of a threat to eggs and baby birds than crows.

1.  I never heard that crows eat baby birds - now i do.  So in the future i will be sure to share my knowledge that crows are not the most likely critter who is eating baby birds in our neighborhood. 2. Crows have made a sudden appearance to my Propery home on a lake in NW New Jersey this past summer.  They are very loud and they do get up wayyy to early- however, they are great at letting me know when there is trouble in the bird world with regard to other predatory animals...  I have no idea where these crows roost - but it must be close by as they are at my property as a place to hang out or pass through several times a day in summer. 3. Unlikely i would see a raven - but the “pointers” you shred will help me identify them in the future.  I will take note in their behavior if I should see one going forward. 4.  I do know that the crows that visit my home are great at letting the other song birds and ducks know that there is danger in the area.   That is certain.  They are watch dogs - I have witnessed that myself often - and i have seen them what i believe would be defending the area from some raptors in my area.  I suppose their voracious and varied eating habits are helpful to some.

1.  I live in a subdivision in eastern North Carolina.  For a long time, it seemed like we never saw crows around.  When a murder showed up in our neighborhood, the neighbors started complaining about them.  I didn't know there were so many things that ate baby birds... but I certainly know now where crows fall in that category.  I would think that in our neighborhood the squirrels and the hawks definitely have a feast.  I feel comfortable explaining to the neighbors that the baby birds have other things to fear besides the crows.  2)  I have read a lot about crows and I have started feeding them in my backyard.  My neighbors don't like this because they think they are noisy.  I have tried to educate them about how smart they are.  They come daily and squawk for me to feed them.  I really enjoy them and look forward to their visits.  I like to see them fight off the squirrels and I enjoy the airshows they participate in when they are aggravating the hawks. 3)  I do not live in an area with ravens but I have seen them in the west on some hiking trips I have taken.  They are impressive! 4)  I have an environmental science background so I understand how important it is to have things around that eat lots of things.  There are some animals that I don't love having around, like most folks.... like snakes, vultures and mice, but they all have their purpose and have their place in the food chain.  Just recently I heard the crows in my yard making the biggest racket I had ever heard them make.  They were so noisy they got several dogs barking too.  When I looked outside there was a very large fox in our backyard.  They were definitely on neighborhood watch. One of my neighbors heard them and brought her dog in off the deck, which was a good thing.

1)Your neighbor is complaining about the American Crows killing all the songbird nestlings.  What would you say to him/her? I learned from my course on Crows that snakes are the greatest predators to songbird nestlings, followed by squirrels their cousins, for example, chipmunks. Although crows would love to eat songbird nestlings if given the chance, in reality they account for a tiny fraction of predations, next to the last in ranking (last being deer!). 2)Where have you seen American Crows?  Based on what you learned in this lesson, see if you can locate a crow’s nest (keeping a respectful distance) and share what you found. I live in Dallas, Texas and have seen crows in my own backyard where I have four birdfeeders. They look for food on the ground, and don't visit the birdfeeders. However, other birds seem to fly off when crows arrive. I'm glad you mentioned grackles - those birds are in HUGE flocks around here. They can be seen roosting on electrical lines at dusk, in some places sothick they're on every line and perch in an intersection. I also have land southwest of Ft. Worth. We have many crows that fly by our cabin in morning and dusk, cawing like mad! I have never tried to find their nests, but that would be interesting. I did not like crows until I read the book, Covid, and now I am a fan! 3)You’ve seen the range map for the American Crow.  Here is the range map for Common Ravens. Do you live where there are both species?  If so, can you now distinguish between them? What differences have you noticed in their behavior? We do not have ravens where I live in Texas, but I now I see the differences. 4)What birds and other animals might benefit from having crows around? Why? How? Since crows will alert to predators like hawks, all birds can benefit from their presence. In the city, perhaps small outside animals would also be alerted, such as squirrels.  I have red tailed hawks that try to pick off birds that are feeding in my backyard. Although I haven't seen a crow at the same time as a hawk, I have seen blue jays go crazy when the hawk arrives. They make a real racket!

Question 2.  I am located in Charleston, SC and have only seen the American Crow here.  I started feeding a murder of crows nearby our church, and now they come flocking to my car every time I come to church!  Once, a crow followed me from a coffee shop where I had purchased a coffee and met me at my church in the parking lot looking for food.  He/she must have been familiar enough with my truck and my voice to know that I was the person who fed them!

Question 3: I live northwest of the northwest tip of Lake Ontario in Halton Region, Ontario, about 20 km from the lake. In the past 3-4 years, we have both seen and heard ravens as well as crows in our area, winter and summer. Love that loud echoing croak they make! They now seem to be nesting a little further south than your range map indicates. There have been reports of others seeing them as well. The crows don't seem to appreciate having the ravens around as they mob them a bit. They are easy to tell apart by size when seen together but I can now use tail and wing shape to ID them when they fly over without the crow mob. Question 4: Last year we had a Cooper's hawk nest near our house. Crows would have harassed it and likely prevented the Robin nest predation. That hawk ate every chick. I don't begrudge it though. We have many many robins. I worried a bit more about the Indigo buntings I saw being chased by that hawk but I was VERY impressed with their dodging flight through thick branches until the hawk got tired and gave up!

1. Your neighbor is complaining about the American Crows killing all the songbird nestlings.  What would you say to him/her? One of the findings of a meta-analysis of nest predators was that squirrels and snakes are far more likely to prey on songbird nestlings than crows, which ranked almost last, just above white-tailed deer.  Also, crows are technically songbirds because they are members of Passeriformes, so the net impact on songbirds as a group is zero if a crow preys on songbird nestlings. 2. Where have you seen American Crows?  Based on what you learned in this lesson, see if you can locate a crow’s nest (keeping a respectful distance) and share what you found. I see crows everywhere there is human development. There are several crow territories on the university campus near my home. Every nesting season, the birds harass people as they pass through their territories. It's always startling to feel them hit your head, but also thrilling. 3. You’ve seen the range map for the American Crow.  Here is the range map for Common Ravens. Do you live where there are both species?  If so, can you now distinguish between them? What differences have you noticed in their behavior? There is overlap where I live in Seattle, but I have only seen ravens on one occasion, which coincidentally was today. On very first sight, I id'd the pair of ravens as hawks due to wingspan and shape, but realized they were ravens from color and bill shape/size as they flew closer. I was lucky enough to see ravens regularly when I lived in Southern California, and it was always easy to tell from crows by the fact that they were more often in open natural spaces, soaring and in pairs, whereas crows more often use powered flight and are in more developed areas. 4. What birds and other animals might benefit from having crows around? Why? How? Crows make it very well-known when a raptor is around and even drive them off, so anything that might be taken as a prey item by any kind of raptor benefits from having crows around. Owls, such as GHOW who do not construct their own nests, also benefit from crows by using their old nests. Parasites also benefit from the social behavior of crows as behaviors like allopreening provide dispersal opportunities.

1. They may kill song bird nestling but other animals are a lot worst like squirrel, racoon and some species of insects. 3. American crow live in large number of individual mostly compared to raven which is not living in large number. 2. In coming days I will get out and try to find a american crow nest. 4. Insects and scavenger animal when American crow leave a carcass of a dead animal. Note: sorry for my english .

My neighbor is complaining about crows eating baby birds.  I would tell him that's  statistically not true.  they are only a 1-2 % predator of baby birds.  Over 50% of nests with babies are eaten by snakes and squirrels or chipmunks.

These are my answers for questions 1 and 2: 1. I would tell my neighbor that crows are at the bottom of the scale for eating songbird chicks. I would let him/her know that snakes, squirrels and chipmunks all eat more songbird chicks than crows do. 2. I have seen them only at my house scavenging the leftover birdseed and planning to get nestlings. For me, I find that smart, even though they have never succeeded, but, they have gotten very close to doing it.

1.  I would educate my neighbor that Crows are at the bottom of the scale for song birds nestlings.  I'd let him/her know that Snakes, Squirrels and Chipmunks all eat more songbird nestlings than Crows do. 2. I've seen a lot of Crows flying over my house here in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Maybe now I can look for features to help me identify the, accurately. 3.  It doesn't appear that I live where Ravens are common year round.  If I see something that I think may be a Raven I'll know now to look to see if it has  "diamond shaped tail," and I'll look to see if it has a long beak. 4.  I've noticed that Crows "announce" their presence, and that may be helpful to letting songbirds and Squirrels know when possible "danger" may be around.  Other birds may benefit from the Crows ability to hunt for food and letting other birds know where the food is.

1. People have strong opinions about all sorts of wildlife, and just like we have experienced in politics, you will not change their minds. My immediate neighbor rarely notices wildlife, but for the most part the opinions are negative. But I keep trying. I was fascinated to read about which animals are guilty of nest predation, since I have recognized for a while now, that most wildlife eat whatever they can get. There are fewer vegetarians out there than we think. I was mildly surprised about White-tailed deer, but hunger and opportunity generally win. I'd love to learn more. I really think a dislike of Corvids is something people form early. They don't like large, noisy flocks of birds during migration covering the lawns and trees, and many think of birds as dirty. I accept all birds, even our two invasives - European Starlings and House Sparrows.  I know this is an unpopular opinion. And there is nothing I can do about hordes of squirrels living where I do and with the number of trees around, so they all get to eat.   2 & 3. In Northeast Ohio, where I live, our Corvids are generally limited to American Crows and Blue Jays. However, in the winter, there are a few shopping plazas that are visited by large flocks of American Crows and within 20 miles of my home, Fish Crows.  Much closer to me - 10 minutes - we have had Fish Crows as well. I like to visit the plaza and listen to the Crows since a Fish Crow is hard to distinguish from an American Crow unless they are immediately adjacent. In my local patch we have a smaller roost area that I have not located. I just see the large flock rising at certain times of day. Ravens sometimes visit in Ohio, but I did not find them when I visited their reported site. On the other hand I have very poor skills in flight ID. I keep working on it. 4. I benefit from Corvids. I love the different calls they make. I have a Blue Jay near me who has been mastering his Red-shouldered Hawk call (it's fooling me more each year) and witnessed a Jay with a Titmouse song that was truly perfect. An actual titmouse was responding to it.  If I use Jays and Crows to clue me in about possible raptors and owls, it's obvious the other creatures do as well. I get more Jays giving warnings than Crows, and the birds always react. If it's really a serious threat, the crows pile in and even the smaller songbirds will fly to the possible enemy to harass and chirp.  Crows and Jays also do this to clear the feeders so they can take over.  It's always a good day when there is so much to observe

1  I have never witnessed a crow eating a baby bird or invading a nest.  We live in the piedmont area of the blue ridge mountains. We have black snakes and they love to get into nests and bird houses.  We often use a snake guard to keep them out. 2. We have tonnage of crow where we live.  I have had admiration and curiosity about them for years.  I grew up on a farm in North Dakota and my dad used to put “boomers” in his sunflower fields to keep the crow out.  We live in Virginia and I feed the crow.  A friend who has a wildlife rescue sanctuary suggested I feed them dog food instead of “scraps”.  They know when I am coming and call to each other that breakfast is ready.  They do not want to be my friends as much as I would like that. 3 we do have both species of crows and ravens.  Only recently have they been showing themselves.  Otherwise you would need to go up into the blue ridge mountains to glimpse them.  A few years ago I thought I heard one and keep hoping to see one.  In the past couple years I actually see them flying overhead, riding the currents.  Their voice definitely identifies them when you can’t see them. 4 they definitely keep track of what’s happening in the area and are not shy about sharing their info.  Love them!

1. Your cat kills more songbirds than a crow does! 3. Yes! When you see their size it's easiest to tell. The tail is hard to distinguish in flight to tell them apart. 4. Alerting smaller birds and mice to danger from hawks or other predators.