Content:
- Identification: Physical Appearance of the Northwestern Crow
- Geographical Range & Habitat
- Behavior
- Northwestern Crow Diet
- Mating & Breeding
- Communication
- Lifespan
- Are Northwestern Crows Considered Pests?
- Conclusion
Have you ever heard of the Northwestern Crow? You might have been walking around Seattle or Vancouver and noticed some large black birds in the sky – these are Northwestern Crows! They are not your typical American crows; their huge size, signature call, dominance on the food chain, and sometimes cheeky behavior make them incredibly interesting creatures to observe.
Whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast who loves bird watching or wants to learn about a unique species of crow, this guide is sure to cover everything there is to know about Northwestern Crows – from what they look like and how they behave in different environments, to why they’re found predominantly in the Pacific Northwest region.
Keep reading if you’re curious!
Identification: Physical Appearance of the Northwestern Crow
Northwestern crows are both charismatic and striking creatures. These birds range in size from medium to large, with a wingspan ranging from 99 cm to as much as 41.9-44.5 cm. The entire bird is adorned with iridescent black feathers and bluish-violet accents that shimmer in the light.
In addition to their shining feathers, crows also possess a shiny and robust bill that is slightly smaller than their relatives the ravens but still strong enough to make up for what they lack in size.
Their eyes are smokey brownish-grey in color while their nares are covered in feathers resembling bristles. Most recognizable among its features are the thick, black legs with big scales solely on the front side of the bird’s body.
Furthermore, when at rest it’s easy to spot that the folded wings’ tips do not usually touch the tips of their tails which have slightly rounded ends. Though there are some size variations between males and females, otherwise both sexes overall appear similar.
Geographical Range & Habitat
Corvus caurinus is a non-migratory bird that only inhabits the northeastern Pacific Ocean coast between southern Alaska and the northern tip of Washington. Although this species of a crow can be found along broad rivers up to 120 km inland, it is most common around coastlines close to intertidal zones.
They usually move back into the forest edge during hard winter weather conditions, though they are not always in or near forested areas. Crows in the Northwestern U.S. are also prone to reside close to garbage dumps and seabird colonies.
Additionally, they have been discovered residing in river deltas, coastal bays, coastal villages, coastal towns, and agricultural terrain. They can be found up to 1700 meters above sea level.
Behavior
During the breeding season, Corvus caurinus pairs up in a territorial fashion. As their young grow and become fledglings, the family’s need for space lessens and the flock moves together to a shared roosting area.
Sentinels take up positions at key locations in the colony for extra protection, watching for food sources or potential dangers. With its larger size comes an even greater need for communication and Corvus caurinus relies on calls to alert one another of changes around them.
When gathered together, fledglings can be seen playing with each other while they fly, a sight that makes it easy to forget the world outside of their cozy roosting area. Within this close society, there has been observed only limited hierarchies – with males generally having more control than females, who in turn have more control than yearlings or fledglings.
Northwestern crows might not look like much, but they are incredibly skilled fliers. Not only can they fly, hop and walk, but their adept maneuvering has also been observed gliding along cliffs and making use of strong winds.
On top of that, their fast wing beat reaches speeds of an impressive 30 km/h; far faster than the lowly American crow! As if that weren’t enough, these tiny birds have even been caught playing games involving sticks and stones. Talk about having a great time in the air!
All things considered, it’s exciting to see just what these remarkable crows can do with their wings.
Northwestern Crow Diet
Northwestern crows are some of the most industrious scavengers around, eagerly gobbling up anything that crosses their path. Whether it be small invertebrates, human waste, fruit, or other carrion-like roadkill and dead insects, these adaptable predators can probably find a way to make a meal out of it.
When they’re exploring the coastlines, their favored sustenance is clams, crabs, and sand dollars. An especially cool behavior these crows display is to pick up their prey and soar high in the sky before dropping them on rocks below to crack them open.
Blackberries are also a major source of food for northwestern crows as well as many other types of carrion. They won’t hesitate to spend time treading along the beach trying to uncover clams or stomping in sandy tide pools looking for insects.
Corvus caurinus, more commonly known as the Northwestern Crow, are very clever creatures when it comes to gathering and storing food.
Each morning and evening, they search for a variety of items such as clams, cormorant eggs, crabs, and fish to store for later use. What is especially remarkable is that the Northwestern Crow can return to retrieve the cached food within 24 hours!
During this time of the year, Corvus caurinus engage in high amounts of food caching that are mainly seen at the start of their breeding period. It seems that caching is used primarily to provide females with enough sustenance while they lay eggs and nourish hatchlings through a potentially scarce amount of food sources.
They often bury their caches or leave them within plants or along rocks so they can remember where they stored them – an impressive trait we should all strive to be equally skillful at!
Mating & Breeding
Northwestern crows certainly know how to make an impression, even if the exact timing of breeding pair formation is unknown. The courting display, if any, is delicate and out of sight – but still stunning.
At just the moment before copulation, the male droops his wings and tail and tips his bill downward – quivering both in a display that reveals nictitating membranes! Regarding the female crow, her version of the performance involves crouching low and quivering her tail quickly.
The ability of some species to cooperate in breeding is a unique behavior observed in animals and birds. Corvus caurinus, or the Northwestern crow, displays this behavior through cooperative breeding.
A mated pair of Northwestern crows will sometimes make an exception from the norm, choosing to keep one of their offspring from the previous season with them if they’ve yet to reach maturity.
This “helper” aids their parents by gathering food for newly hatched nestlings, protecting the territory, and stashing food away for future feeding attempts. Cooperation is essential to survival within the collective group – and it’s sweet that a family will engage in such action whenever it’s necessary!
Communication
Northwestern crows rely heavily on communication through calls to express their needs and establish relationships. Though clearly adept at vocalizing their needs, the social nature of their species is remarkable.
From feeding calls to cries for help and alerting others, they employ a wide range of tools to communicate with others in their group and with those who wander too close to the boundaries of their territory. They even call out special sonic messages that bring mothers-to-be on the hunt for food right to them – demonstrating yet another complex use for these amazing animals’ ability with sound.
And if there’s ever an intruder? You can trust that these incredibly adaptive birds have an important visual proclamation or two up their feathers!
Whether asserting dominance, standing watch over nestlings and mates, or marking mating readiness in order to improve breeding success among the species; these incredible birds demonstrate impressively advanced communication capabilities all along the spectrum from verbal to nonverbal.
Lifespan
Despite the fact that Corvus caurinus has a long lifespan in the wild of up to 17 years, and is thankfully not threatened by many diseases, this species of Raven isn’t without its struggles.
Only 10% of their eggs successfully hatch, and out of these hatchlings, many die from either starvation or secondary causes before ever even leaving the nest. In coastal areas, there is an added risk for young birds – falling into the ocean or being eaten by gull colonies.
Even more concerning are the losses due to recreational shooting as a primary known cause of death in British Columbia, combined with population stability likely being dependent on food availability.
Unfortunately for this species, there is currently no captivity program in place to protect them against these dangers.
Are Northwestern Crows Considered Pests?
Northwestern Crows are viewed as pests by some people due to their habit of scavenging through trash cans and raiding gardens and bird feeders. However, these crows provide many benefits to their local environments.
They help to control populations of insects and small animals that could otherwise damage crops, dispose of carrion such as roadkill, carry away animal remains around landfills, and even consume disease-carrying organisms like ticks.
Additionally, Northwestern Crows can provide valuable ecological interactions within a community if given the chance. For example, they have been known to warn other crows of danger or direct them toward food sources.
Despite popular belief that Northwestern Crows are nothing but an annoyance, they actually play an important role in the sustainability of their ecosystems.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! A comprehensive guide to the Northwestern Crow. Now that you know all about this amazing bird, go out and find one for yourself! And if you can’t find one, don’t worry – they’ll probably find you.
In case you just want to get rid of these birds, make sure you do it safely.
Thanks for reading!
