American Crow
(Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The American Crow is a widespread, abundant and conspicuous inhabitant of Canada, east of the British Columbia interior. The Breeding Bird Survey monitors the species well and results indicate that current populations are similar to those of about 1970. This species is adaptable to human-induced changes in habitat and there is little current cause for conservation concern.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Clearing and fragmenting of forests, fire suppression and planting of trees in urban areas have benefited the American Crow, while reforestation of abandoned farmland may have had a minor negative effect in some areas (Verbeek and Caffrey 2002). Overwinter survival may be enhanced by the availability of food in urban areas and landfills (Verbeek and Caffrey 2002). Although the arrival of West Nile Virus in 1999 had significant negative effects on crow populations in most parts of North America (LaDeau et al. 2007), populations in Canada today appear to have either recovered or were not widely affected.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• LaDeau, S.L., A.M. Kilpatrick and P.P. Marra. 2007. West Nile virus emergence and large-scale declines of North American bird populations. Nature 447:710-713. LaDeau, S.L., A.M. Kilpatrick and P.P. Marra. 2007. West Nile virus emergence and large-scale declines of North American bird populations. Nature 447:710-713. (Link)
• Verbeek, N.A. and C. Caffrey. 2002. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Verbeek, N.A. and C. Caffrey. 2002. American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)