Bird Observer - The New England Birding Journal
Login

Bird Observer

The Birding Journal for New England

February 2018

Vol. 46, No. 1

A History of Winter Crow Roosts and a Visit to a Roost in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Dana Duxbury-Fox


American Crows. Illustration by Barry Van Dusen.

"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows." Reverend Henry Ward Beecher

American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and Fish Crows (C. ossifragus) traditionally roost communally in winter. Across their range, many of these roosts have been in existence for a number of years. Very large roosts tend to occur in regions where there is abundant food, and also where northern migrants augment resident crow populations, as in Oklahoma (Good 1952).

To view the rest of the article you'll need to subscribe. Bird Observer publishes original articles on birding locations, on avian populations and natural history, on regional rarities, and field notes, Massachusetts field records, photographs, and art work.