One of the most well known birds in the country, the American Crow or common crow, can be a good or bad bird to have in the area, depending upon one's preferences. Groups or singles can be a handful for any raptor to endure, either through the general din or simple harassment. This is known as mobbing behavior. Crows are well known for their intelligence and adaptability, and unless they can get something for their trouble, they are not going to work for it.
Known for their deep caws and croaks, this all black bird is found in all open habitats and will eat anything that isn't protected, which includes the eggs of other birds. They form large roosts during winter where thousands gather in trees. Many of these roosts have been in the same area for a century.
American Crow
Boomer Lake Park, 2015
Nests are stick platforms, preferentially in oaks or conifers, near the trunk, around two feet in diameter. Where there are no trees, telephone poles, shrubs, and the ground are used. Incubation is around eighteen days, and the young stay with their parents or a flock for an indeterminate period after fledging.
They usually avoid deserts and unbroken forest expanses, and are very social birds. They will also form strong relationships with other species, using their powers of flight and foraging and trade this for help with gaining access to a carcass especially during the winter. Even though they have large bills, their structure does not allow them to break through skin.
American Crow
Boomer Lake Park, 2014
The common crow has eaten from outdoor dog dishes, taken fruit from trees, and carried small cups of water to moisten hard food. They have eaten exhausted birds while resting from migration, and several together will provide distraction displays while others will take the food from mammals.
However, even the crow has empathy, and has provided moral support to sick and dying individuals. Either one loves them or despises them, but there is never an in-between. They are even aware that death means no longer existing, and hold funerals for their own species.
These passerines are susceptible to West Nile Virus and will usually pass within a week, even if cared for. Suspicious of humans because of their mistreatment over the centuries, it is unusual for a crow to trust any of them.
For more photos of the American Crow and other birds:
https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-land-of-plenty.html
https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-north-meets-south-long-may-they-fly.html
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