I decided to sign up to this course in order to try understand crows better. We have a family of 5 crows that nest in the tall trees near us each spring. About that time I set out a large saucer of water on the deck railing for robins, cardinals, and other small birds to bathe in. They are fun to watch. But the crows don't just drink the water. They also like also like to use it to soak chunks of dry bread before scarfing it down. This makes the water very messy, and I have to change it. Also messy are the chicken bones. Ugh! Even worse, this past spring crows brought freshly killed fledglings and even - once - a baby squirrel, to rinse in the water. But now it is July, and hot. The crows have gone somewhere cooler, but the robins still appreciate a daily bath. We live in Arlington, VA.

2 and 3: I live in Southern New England and have always seen plenty of Crows in the area.  Sometimes, birders will report seeing a Raven on a local email site, but I've never seen a Raven here.  I do occasionally hear a Fish Crow.  It can be tricky to single them out from the calls of begging juvenile Crows, but Fish Crows' calls seem higher-pitched.  I've never seen a nest.   I really enjoy the behaviors of Crows.  A few years ago I took a series of photos of a group of Crows feeding in my yard on Pears that were on the ground around my very productive Pear tree.  A juvenile Crow was constantly begging with both voice and body movements (mouth agape, wings partly opened and trembling)  following one particular Crow that was feeding on pears on the ground.  At one point, the juvenile Crow tipped over on the ground, wings tightly folded closed, yet still with mouth agape and begging calls!  The adult near it completely ignored it, even as it lay for severals seconds on its side, loudly begging.  Such "drama"!  Nice try!   Their behaviors continue to fascinate me and I'm eager to learn more via this course.

The pie chart of baby bird mortality is misleading.  “Snakes” is a suborder-level taxon and “Squirrels” is a family-level taxon, while “American crow” is a single species.  Of course the number of baby birds eaten by every possible species of snake is higher than the number eaten by a single species of bird. A more accurate comparison would be to break down the “snake,” “squirrel,” and other groupings into individual species and see where the American crow ranks on that list.  Alternatively, “American crow” and “jays” could be grouped together as “Corvidae” and compared to “snakes,” “squirrels,” and the rest.  The exact numbers aren’t provided on the chart, but “Corvidae” would probably fall between insects and small birds as a cause of nestling mortality - not the largest cause, but not trivial either.

1 baby birds are a food source for many creatures,   It would be interesting to put up a webcam and see just who is eating the baby birds. 2 I have seen crows in Albuquerque New Mexico 3  Where I live now there are only ravens 4.  Owls sometimes use old crow nests for themselves

I am responding to Topic 1.  I would ask the neighbor if she had actually seen the crow killing the nestlings.  If she hadn't, I would tell her that odds were that it wasn't a crow.  Crows are opportunistic, and will eat baby birds if they come upon them, but it is much more likely that the predator was a snake, squirrel or raccoon, among other predators that eat baby bird much more often than crows.

Owls can benefit by using nests that crows make.

Crows give warning calls that alert other crows and also alert other birds and small animals to danger.

After reading the responses to the question of crows eating eggs, it occurs to me that one should simply ask, "Do you eat eggs?" and smile sweetly.

1. I would say that, actually, it's probably a chipmunk or squirrel killing the baby birds. 2. I live in the city so any walk I take I'm likely to see 5-10 crows on it! 3. I do live where there are both species. I have seen a raven only once that I know of, at a bird sanctuary. They are enormous! So much bigger than a crow. It is easier to tell the difference between them up close. 4. Since crows keep insect and rodent population down, humans really benefit from crows! Crows also benefit everyone by spreading seeds and berries, so any animal who relies on seeds and berries would benefit. BONUS: I love to see crows and when I get up close to them you can really see them as mini raptors.

1.  I would tell them that snakes, squirrels and chipmunks are the bigger predator. 2.ive seen crows in all my travels in North America.  We have a nest in a old old cedar tree that they built this spring using twigs and dead grasses from our yard.  It’s about 40’ up the tree. 3.  Yes we have both species where I live and what I’ve noticed is the crows live in the residential neighbourhoods and the ravens tend to stay at the higher elevations in the mountains.  The ravens are not nearly as social although they are curious when we go off roaring in the mountains.  We have about 70 crows in the neighbourhood murder. 4.  I’m not sure how the crows benefit other birds, but I know they live in harmony with my other backyard birds and are not as intimidating as I’d have thought after studinying them for awhile.

1) I would mention that snakes , chipmunks and squirrels actually have higher rates of predation than do crows. 2) I don’t see many crows near suburban area where I live. Most likely to see single crows spaced out along highway shoulder especially in rural ares. Never suspected crow nest, but will start to pay more attention. 3) No ravens likely in my area. Have seen crows.  Recently on vacation on Grand Manan island, off coast of New Brunswick and found groups of crows and also ravens readily found.

1. I would tell my neighbor that our local squirrels and chipmunks are the more likely nest raiding culprits. 2. Last year there was a crow's nest in our neighbors tall pine tree. I enjoyed watching the crow couple's teenage crow assisting with the young ones. 3. Ebird reports crows and ravens in our area. I have not confirmed a sighting of a raven yet, it is one of my goals. We also have fish crows in our area - every dusk 50-60 birds or more fly from the lake/marsh area at our local county park, heading north. They occasionally land in a clump of trees, then is disagreement all take off again. They also work on flushing out all hawks in their path. 4. The crow is my bird watching companion in that he tips me off to any hawks in the area. Here in southeast PA we have nesting pairs of Cooper's hawks, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed hawks. The birds at our feeders take their cue from the crows, who act like the local sheriff in our neighborhood.

4. Crows act as scavengers which is a very underappreciated job. I'm fortunate to drive through a 6 mile stretch of state land every day to go to work and I often see road kill.  The crows, and other species, take care of this quickly so I don't have to see it for too long or smell it as it decays.

3. in edmonton canada. i find crows take over the city during spring, summer, and fall. the ravens are typically found in wooded areas outside of the city. in the winter the crows leave (assuming south) and the ravens take over the town. often on cold snaps of -40 i will see ravens huddled around exhaust fans of the local 7/11.

There are hundreds of crows in our town. They roost in trees downtown and poop on the sidewalks, hitting people once I  a while.  Lots has been done to try to get them to roost elsewhere, but to no avail.  The issue is especially acute in winter.

1.  I would tell the neighbor that the many snakes, squirrels, chipmunks, racoons and opossums in the area are the greatest threat to songbird nestlings. 2.  A murder of 6 to 8 crows permanently reside in my rural gated community that prohibits discharge of firearms.  I live above a bluff line that defines Cane Creek gorge of Fall Creek Falls State park.  A pasture with small lakes lie above my property.  On the end of my property with state park, a crow nest was built in the crotch of Black Oak some 70 feet above the ground.  Three crows with much chatter tended the nest when the fledglings took flight. 3.  I live on southern Cumberland Plateau (mid-eastern Tennessee) where the crows, vultures and raptors are common.  The raven is seen east of the Cumberland Plateau along the Appalachian range. 4.  A lookout crow sounds a warning to group of crows below that other birds and animals hear that a predator or human intruder has been spotted.

1. I would have to point out that one of my cats is a formidable huntress. (She is dying to catch a crow, although they are larger than she is.) But the 4 ft rat snake, the squirrels and raccoons, not to mention the raptors and owls and cowbirds all have better opportunities to go after nestlings. The experienced members of the passerine flock nest in other yards. The crows do try it on though. The mockingbirds kick up an enormous racket when they or the blue jays show up... their nest is high in a hackberry tree. 2. I have never spotted a nest. The resident flock has a lot of hillside to choose from. The crows visit when I dump out feeders on the driveway or toss out stale bread, chips or fruit. They always go after the peanuts first, stuffing in as many as they can manage. The sunflower seeds must be stepped on while they are hammered. Then they have to practically lie their heads down on the pavement to extract the seeds. Usually, they come alone or with 1-3 friends. 3. There are only crows where I live. The ravens are a couple hundred miles west. 4. The crows and bluejays make a terrific fuss when there are predators around, including me. They seem to run regular patrols around the territory. I hear them calling from one side of the peninsula to the other. I am told that they don't like to share space with grackles. There are certainly no grackles, (and not many blackbirds or starlings) on the ridge and peninsula where I live, but I have seen them foraging side by side at a nearby golf course, so that may just be hearsay. Not having grackles leaves more food for everyone else. Anything that eats grasshoppers helps the local herbivores.

I live in Santa Cruz California. We have tons of crows around here. I don't remember seeing many at all 35 years ago. During the late fall, in our neighborhood, which includes a small park with some tall redwood trees, crows congregate in great numbers. There are other areas in town where this occurs also. They line up on the power lines across the street from my house. They stream overhead in great numbers to the land in the tall trees just a couple of houses from ours. They make a lot of racket and seem to be having a great time as more and more crows fly in to join the party. I have about 4 regulars whom have overcome their fear and sit on the fence waiting for me to put peanuts in the flat, hanging feeder. If the squirrels are there first, they wait until I chase them off. One or two of them know how to grab 3 to 4 peanuts at a time - a method which involves pushing the first peanut to the back of the throat. It's funny because there are 2 squirrels who will do the "3 peanut grab" also. I love the crows and think them handsome and intelligent.

I live in southern Maine, where both American Crow and Common Raven occur, though ravens are far less common and less visible where they do occur. I have both species nesting in the woods near my home. I find them very easy to distinguish both by voice and appearance in flight, though I never use size as a differentiator. Ravens tend to stay where there is much more forest cover and more mature trees. The ravens nesting near me have chosen a very tall oak deeper in the woods, but their nest is quite visible. I saw one of these adults approach the nest in mid-May carrying a baby robin. The nesting crows are right near  my house in the tops of red pines, and there seem to be several helpers assisting at the nest. When distinguishing between the two species, it is also helpful to remember that ravens are almost always alone or (during breeding season) in pairs, at least in my experience. In my many years of birding, I have never seen a group of ravens except at a carcass. As to the neighbor who complains about the crows eating baby birds, I had a neighbor say that exact thing to me. I reminded her that her free-ranging cat is FAR more likely to be killing birds than a crow.

1:  I’d let them know we should be more concerned about squirrels and chipmunks in our area. 2:  I have had a family of crows in my woods for several years now.  I do not know where their nest is...yet. 3.  In the part of New Hampshire that I live I generally only see crows. But when I hike in the White Mountains I see and hear ravens. 4:  All things are connected. In New England we have a tick problem.  Crows that feed on small rodents have the ability to break a link in the web of causation that causes disease in humans. The tick feeds on rodents, among other things, and then feeds on people, causing Lyme and other diseases. The crow is a welcome part of my neighborhood. It is also helpful for the same reason for the deer and moose populations as well as my dogs.

1. I would mention that snakes and even squirrels are responsible for more predation. 2. We have many American Crows in our neighborhood, but I have never thought to look for a nest. 3. I live where both species are present.

#1. I would point out that snakes, and especially in my area, squirrels eat more birds. I also agree that cats are a problem, although I am not sure if they are killing baby birds or adults. #2. I have crows in my neighborhood and in my backyard. I have no knowledge of where they are nesting. There is a marsh nearby. I would appreciate any tips on how to keep them from eating the plants in my garden. I have several bird feeders and they like to eat the seeds that fall on the ground. That's okay, but now they've started eating the plants. #3. I believe I live near both species, but until I took this course, I couldn't distinguish them. Now I will pay more attention to behavior. #4. As the video said, probably owls that use the nests that crows leave behind.

Re. #1 - I would probably mention that outdoor cats are what we really need to worry about.

A farmer in my area hates crows because he says they eat his corn seed when he plants.  Is this true? I love crows. I have been feeding them for 15 years. Their favorite?  Hotdogs!  Each morning I put out 3 or 4, not cooked, of course. They love them, as they do pizza, and a dead mouse or two or chipmunk that I catch in my traps. I like to experiment with different foods, they don't like chocolate chips, at least mine don't.  they love raw chicken. They actually sit next to a hawk in my walnut tree some winter mornings, waiting for me.  It's a beautiful sight!

Their are both here in CO but crows are in the neighborhood and ravens are more out of town.