Adult Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus)
Naples Botanical Gardens
Southwest Florida
USA
The fish crow (Corvus ossifragus) is a species of crow associated with wetland habitats in the eastern and southeastern United States. Fish crows can be identified from other crows because they hunch down and fluff their throat feathers when they call.
The call of the fish crow has been described as a nasal "ark-ark-ark" or a begging "waw-waw".
This species occurs on the eastern seaboard of the United States from Rhode Island south to Key West, and west along the northern coastline of the Gulf of Mexico and follows many river systems inland for quite some distance. Coastal marshes and beaches, rivers, inland lakes and marshes, river banks, and the land immediately surrounding all are frequented.
Food is taken mainly from the ground or shallow water where the bird hovers and plucks food items out of the water with its feet. The fish crow is omnivorous. It feeds on small crustaceans, such as crabs and shrimps, other invertebrates, stranded fish, and live fish if the situation favors their capture, eggs and nestlings of birds, small reptiles, the fruits of many trees, peanuts, and grains, as well as human scraps where available.
The nest is usually built high in a tree and is often accompanied in nearby trees with other nests of the same species forming small, loose colonies. Usually, four or five eggs are laid. Pale blue-green in color, they bear blotches of olive-brown.
Adult Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus)
Naples Botanical Gardens
Southwest Florida
USA
The fish crow (Corvus ossifragus) is a species of crow associated with wetland habitats in the eastern and southeastern United States. Fish crows can be identified from other crows because they hunch down and fluff their throat feathers when they call.
The call of the fish crow has been described as a nasal "ark-ark-ark" or a begging "waw-waw".
This species occurs on the eastern seaboard of the United States from Rhode Island south to Key West, and west along the northern coastline of the Gulf of Mexico and follows many river systems inland for quite some distance. Coastal marshes and beaches, rivers, inland lakes and marshes, river banks, and the land immediately surrounding all are frequented.
Food is taken mainly from the ground or shallow water where the bird hovers and plucks food items out of the water with its feet. The fish crow is omnivorous. It feeds on small crustaceans, such as crabs and shrimps, other invertebrates, stranded fish, and live fish if the situation favors their capture, eggs and nestlings of birds, small reptiles, the fruits of many trees, peanuts, and grains, as well as human scraps where available.
The nest is usually built high in a tree and is often accompanied in nearby trees with other nests of the same species forming small, loose colonies. Usually, four or five eggs are laid. Pale blue-green in color, they bear blotches of olive-brown.