Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus)

This resource is based on t he following source: Kale, H. W., I I , B. Prant y, B. M. St it h, and C. W. Biggs. 1992. The at las of t he breeding birds of Florida. Final Report . Florida Gam e an Fresh Wat er Fish Com m ission, Tallahassee, Florida. This resource can be cit ed as: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservat ion Com m ission. 2003, January 6. Florida's breeding bird at las: A collaborat ive st udy of Florida's birdlife. ht t p: / / w ww.m yfw c.com / bba/ ( Dat e accessed m m / dd/ yyyy) . Fish Crow Corvus ossifragus The Fish Crow is known by it s nasal, falset t o call, different from t he harsh cawing of t he Am erican Crow. I t is slight ly sm aller t han t he Am erican Crow, wit h a sm aller bill and m ore slender, point ed wings. I t s plum age is glossier wit h m ore iridescence on t he upper part s. I t s flight is like t he Am erican Crow but quicker, and it sails m ore. The Fish Crow is found along river syst em s and t idal m ar shes in t he east ern Unit ed St at es from Massachuset t s t o sout h Florida and west t o sout h Texas. I n recent years, t he Fish Crow has been ext ending it s range nort hward along t he east ern seaboard. H a bit a t . Norm ally associat ed wit h coast al m arshes and beaches and shores of inland lakes, rivers, and m arshes ( Goodwin 1976) , t he Fish Crow is m oving int o drier woodland habit at s, where it oft en occurs sym pat rically wit h t he Am erican Crow. Habit at requirem ent s of t he 2 crow species cannot be easily separat ed. The Fish Crow's diet is highly variable but includes a large proport ion of m arine and ot her invert ebrat es, carrion, birds eggs ( especially t hose of colonial wat erbirds) , and berries, fruit , and seeds. I llust rat ion © 1995 Diane Pierce, All Right s Reserved. The nest ing habit s are sim ilar t o t hose of t he Am erican Crow. However, Fish Crows m ay st art egg laying 1 or 2 m ont hs lat er, usually in April or May. I t m ay nest in sm all colonies or groups, but oft en only 1 nest is found per t ree. I n Brevard Count y Cruickshank ( 1980) described breeding Fish Crows as widely dispersed and pairs " surprisingly secret ive and silent during nest - building and incubat ion." Their nest s are oft en high in t rees but m be as low as 2 m ( 6 ft ) or less above t he ground. The nest is m ade of t wigs or sm all branches and t he nest cup lined wit h fibrous bark, pine needles, hair, grass, and sim ilar m at erials. Eggs are bluish or grayish- green, m ark wit h brown or gray spot s. Clut ches average 4 or 5 eggs, and incubat ion last s 16 t o 18 days ( Ehrlich et al. 1988 The alt ricial young fledge at about 21 days of age. Se a son a l Occu r r e n ce . Fish Crows are resident s t hroughout Florida. Their num bers apparent ly increase in lat e fall and wint er as nort hern birds m ove sout h, alt hough a few known report s exist of m igrat ing birds ( St evenson and Anderson 1994) . Egg laying occurs in April or May. St a t us. The Fish Crow is com m on in urbanized areas of bot h coast s and in m any inland cit ies. I t has bred in Ke West , but it is absent from t he Everglades, where Am erican Crows are com m on. I t s inland breeding range m ay be overst at ed by t he At las result s, part icularly where t here a few confirm ed breeding records, because Fish Crows forage away from t heir nest s and because t he calls of young Am erican Crow m ay be m ist aken for t hose of Fish Crows. Reed Bowm an