Crow control, information, biology, identification

Why Control Pest Crows

The Crow is black from bill to tip of wing and claws with a metallic violet gloss on body and a blue-violet/green-blue gloss on wings. Adults have black eyes while juveniles have blue eyes.

There are two main species of Crows, the large common crow found across the country and the smaller fish crow found in the Southeast. The Common Crow is a big black colored bird approximately 17 to 20 inches long with a strong stout build and a compressed bill. The Fishing Crow is a smaller darker version of the Common Crow.

Both have a scavenger's diet and will eat a wide variety of things. Such food items include insects, frogs, small snakes, eggs, mice and dead animal carcasses. Crows will also eat newly planted crops such as corn. Crows are well known for their intelligence. They are social birds and the flock is in constant communication making hunting or capture of the bird very difficult. The Crow's native history along with its helpful bug eating habits have insured its Federally protected status.

Height/Weight
18"-21"
15oz-22oz

Life Span
6-7 years in the
wild; up to 20 captivity

Flight Speed
25-32 mph

Range
Continental U.S. Suburban/ Rural areas near water

Food
Scavenger, eats almost anything: insects, snakes, dead animals,
human food scraps, eggs and garbage

Habitat
Tall trees and buildings 20 to 100 feet up

Damage
Crows are frequently a big agricultural pest bird due to their fondness for corn and other farm crops, but they are a minor urban pest compared to the pigeon, starling or house sparrow. These birds can overwhelm trees, creating a lot of noise and harassing people and animals in the vicinity which can be a nuisance to the suburban resident. Furthermore, like any pest bird, dropping buildup can lead to structural damage from the uric acid while also posing a health risk due to the harborage of disease.

Nesting
Crows are committed nest builders. They typically build nests in trees, twenty to sixty feet off the ground. The nest consists of sticks and twigs with shredded bark, grass or a similar material lining it.

Breeding
Crows have one or two broods a year, averaging four to seven eggs per brood. Incubation takes eighteen days with a four to five week fledgling period before the young leave the nest. The eggs range from pale bluish-green to olive green or greenish-brown with splotches of brown and olive-gray.

Cycles
Migratory in upper parts of the country. Northern birds will fly thousands of miles south during the winter, while southern birds stay put year round. One notable characteristic about Crows is their flocking behavior. In fall and winter they will move to better feeding areas where they will coalesce into massive feeding flocks. These feeding flocks in turn, join up with other flocks at night to form enormous communal roosts numbering from a couple thousand to tens of thousands.

Control
It is possible to drive away large flocks of Crows and other blackbirds with audio/visual scare devices sometimes. Bird Spike, 5" Bird Coil or Bird Shock can be used to keep crows the off ledges Two inch mesh Bird Net will exclude crows completely from most areas.

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