It’s in your nature: The corvids, the crow family

One family of birds containing some of the most common and well-known birds is Corvidae. This is the family of the crows and ravens along with the jays. I’ll focus on the former with today’s column. The Times News area hosts the common crow, common raven and, occasionally, fish crows.

The common crow is one of the most familiar birds and is found throughout our area. They have adapted well to man and can be considered a pest by many and helpful by some as well. They feed conspicuously, often in large flocks in recently harvested grain fields or, unfortunately, at times in recently planted fields. They also feed on carrion, insects and even other bird eggs and young. It is the last feeding habit that causes them to be chased by red-winged blackbirds, robins, mockingbirds or kingbirds. Crows are not invited guests when these birds are nesting.

Crows build stick nests each year, lay four to six eggs, and both sexes incubate the eggs and later feed the young. Young crows (nestlings) are commonly preyed upon by night feeding great horned owls, and that is why crows will “mob” these owls when they are found. If you hear crows calling angrily and with increasing numbers, you can almost “bet your last dollar” that they found a resting owl.

This harassment may continue until the owl is chased from their neighborhood. They make such a ruckus that dozens of times I have been able to carefully walk to the source of the racket and find the owl before all participants notice me and flee.

By fall, the crows in an area will begin to flock together and then in large groups head to historic roosting sites (rookeries). As a youngster, a large farm in Franklin Township fed hundreds of crows, and my father would take me nearby to watch them depart to their roost on Pohopoco Mountain. The most notable daily movement of crows is from the northern Lehigh Valley each evening as crows from the local farms begin their pre-dusk flight across the Schnecksville area by the thousands heading to one of these roosts on South Mountain. This scattered flock can be watched for nearly over half an hour. Look for this to begin in early December and continue into March.

Common ravens are the largest member of this family. A raven could be 24 inches in size with nearly a 4-foot wingspan. They, and the crows, are all black and in sunlight, showing a bit of iridescence.

Size is not the only distinguishing feature among crows and ravens. Ravens have a larger bill, a wedge-shaped tail (crow is squarer shaped), and they fly a bit differently as well.

Ravens seem to soar more often (more hawklike). Ravens don’t form large flocks like crows and are more likely seen in pairs or the small family group when nesting is done. Ravens prefer to nest on rock ledges, but occasionally build their nests high in large trees just as crows do.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: Least, smoky, short-tailed, long-tailed are species of _____ found in the Times News region. A. voles, B. shrews, C. moles, D. mice.

Last Week’s Trivia: Great blue herons will eat eels, fish, frogs and even mice if available.

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.