CROW

any of several black birds belonging to the family Corvidae (order Passeriformes) that are smaller and less heavily billed than most ravens. They are named for their typical call: caw or crah. More than 20 of the 30 species of the genus Corvus are known as crows, and the name has been widely borrowed. The common crows are C. brachyrhynchos of North America and C. corone of Eurasia. The latter has two races (sometimes considered separate species): the carrion crow (C. c. corone) of western Europe and eastern Asia and the hooded crow (C. c. cornix), occupying the region between and occurring also in the northern British Isles. All crows are about 50 cm (20 inches) long and are coloured glossy black; the hooded crow has touches of gray. Other species include the house crow (C. splendens) of India to Malaysia (introduced in eastern Africa); the pied crow (C. albus), with white nape and breast, of tropical Africa; and the fish crow (C. ossifragus) of southeastern and central North America. Crows are omnivorous and eat grain, berries, insects, carrion, and the eggs of other birds. The crow's habit of eating cultivated grains has made it very unpopular with farmers, who often try to kill the birds. Crows also eat many economically harmful insects, though. They feed chiefly on the ground, where they walk about sedately. Crows are gregarious, and at times they roost together in great numbers (tens of thousands), but most species do not nest in colonies. Each mating pair has its own nest of sticks and twigs, usually high up in a tree, in which are laid five or six greenish-to-olive eggs that have darker speckles. A crow may live 13 years in the wild and more than 20 years in captivity. Some pet crows speak, and in the laboratory some have learned to count to three or four and to find food in boxes marked with symbols. For birds of this name in other families, see currawong, or piping-crow; drongo, or king crow; kokako, or wattled crow; rockfowl, or bald crow.