r/birdfacts • u/FillsYourNiche • Aug 28 '21
There are two species of crow in the mainland United States, the American Crow & the Fish Crow. Until recently, there was a third species, the Northwestern Crow, but it was absorbed into the American Crow in 2020. The Tamaulipas Crow is an infrequent winter visitor to the southern tip of Texas.
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u/FillsYourNiche Aug 28 '21
This fact comes from this article 10 Fun Facts About the American Crow. Image from Dr. Kevin McGowan's page on crows.
American Crows and Fish Crows can be difficult to tell apart despite their size difference. If you're looking at an immature American Crow they may resemble a full grown Fish Crow. The easiest way to tell them apart is by their calls: Fish Crows are very nasaly sounding (compare the American Crow and Fish Crow through Cornell's provided page links). Fish Crows are also smaller and generally found by water, but I've seen them away from water and American Crows near water so going by calls is the best way.
For more information on the Northwestern Crow please see this article Why the Northwestern Crow Vanished Overnight. And this article Goodbye Northwestern Crow, Hello Mexican Duck Updates to the official list of North and Central American bird species.
As far as non-mainland crows, Hawaii has the ʻAlalā or Hawaiian Crow, which unfortunately is extinct in the wild. Please see this heartbreaking article The Hawaiian Crow Is Once Again Extinct in the Wild. Researchers spent four years releasing 30 birds but had to call it quits after too many fatalities.
If you are interested in crows, or Corvids, in general, I have a few book recommendations and check out /r/CrowBro: