Crow, Fish

Physical Features

The Fish Crow is a typical crow in appearance and similar to the American Crow, but it is mainly associated with wetland habitats. It has silky smooth plumage, blue or blue-green sheen upperparts, greenish tint to the black under parts and dark brown eyes. It is slim compared to the American Crow. They have a body length of 36-40cm/14.2-15.7in and a wingspan of 84cm/33.1 while their average body weight is 195g to 330g/6.9-11.6oz.

Habitat

Fish Crows frequent coastal marshes and beaches, rivers, inland lakes and marshes, riverbanks, and their surroundings. They are found solely in the United States occupying the southeastern coast but have been expanding inland and up river valleys, using urban areas in its spread in the recent years. Although the bird is found usually near water, it breeds in urban areas and farmlands away from coast and large bodies of water. It inhabits the eastern seaboard of the United States from the state of Rhode Island south to Key West, and west along the northern coastline of the Gulf of Mexico and follows many river systems inland for quite some distance.

Diet

The Fish Crow hovers and plucks food items out of the shallow water with its feet and from the ground. They are omnivorous and feed on small crustaceans such as crabs, shrimps, other invertebrates, stranded fish and live fish if the situation favors their capture, as well as eggs and nestlings, small reptiles and fruits of many trees, peanuts, grains and human scraps where available. They can also be found feeding on carrion and garbage.  

Meat

Fish Crow meat is dark colored and has a strong gamey smell and flavor that can be fishy due to its marine diet.

Behavior

The Fish Crow is very similar to the American Crow and can be distinguished only by voice, which is a nasal 'ark-ark-ark' or a begging 'waw-waw'. They form lifelong mating pairs who can often be seen grooming each other often. They construct a nest high in a tree often accompanied in nearby trees, with other nests of the same species forming a small, loose colony for each breeding attempt. The female lays 4 to 5 pale blue-green eggs that have of olive-brown blotches and incubates them for 16 to 18 days. The male and female feed the young and they fledge them after 21 to 40 days.

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