The Fish Crow is a bird you have most likely seen, but may have never noticed. It is a distinct species of crow, yet it often associates with the ubiquitous American Crow, and the two species are almost indistinguishable in appearance. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the two next to one another and might notice the Fish Crow’s smaller size, smaller bill, and shorter-legged look. If you’re really lucky, it will say something. Fish Crows sound like an American Crow with a very stuffy nose. That nasally call is the only reliable way to tell the two species apart in the field, but thankfully they’re pretty chatty during the breeding season. Their range has been expanding in Maine since the 1970s.
There is surprisingly little research on these birds despite their stable (and in places like Maine, growing) populations, as well as their close proximity to humans. They’ve adapted very well to environments dominated by our species, and some live quite an urban lifestyle, feeding from dumpsters and landfills. As the name suggests, they specialize in foraging on the coast. They like to stick close to the water line, grabbing crabs, marine invertebrates, insects, and turtle eggs. They also predate the nests of other birds, just like their larger counterparts. This is raising concerns about their impact on breeding birds as the species’ range expands.
Fish crows, like other corvids, are extremely social outside of the breeding season, often roosting in large groups and cooperating with American Crows to mob predators. The jury is out on their migration habits, but it’s believed that, although they vocalize less and are therefore less detectable, Fish Crows may stay in much of their breeding range throughout the winter, concentrating around areas with the most food. There’s a special kind of dopamine rush that comes with picking out a Fish Crow call; listen for their nasally “cah” in coastal areas in Maine.
Photo: Doug Hitchcox
Backyard Bird of the Month is a feature by Maine Audubon created for the Maine Home Garden News, the newsletter of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard
