Fish Crow vs American Crow: How To Tell Them Apart

Crows are like the environmentally friendly celebrities of the bird world, as they have their own fanbase as well as haters. Some may despise this species while others may go around finding pet names for their cherished crow species.

Moreover, the superstitious fan base may try to find meanings behind seeing their favorite species out in the wild to figure out how they might impact them in real life.

Despite being a hardcore crow enthusiast, you might still be confused about which one is which. Trust us, it is rather common even among bird experts.

Now, it is already difficult to tell apart among blackbirds, crows, and ravens, hence, mistaking one crow species for another can be quite tricky, especially if the debate is Fish Crow vs American Crow.

For this reason, we have done a bit of research to help you in your endeavor with visual and behavioral differences that will provide you with an in-depth idea about both these species.

So, get your CAWffee ready and scroll through!

Fish Crow vs American Crow: What Are They?

Before getting into the juicy details of Fish Crow vs American Crow, we will provide you with a basic idea and some interesting facts about these species to get you started.

What is a Fish Crow?

Source: @shane_falin_photography

• Scientific Name: Corvus ossifragus
• Locality: The Eastern and Southeastern United States.
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: Late March to Mid-June

Fish Crows are known for their habit of robbing the nests of other birds. This species hovers around the nests of various waterbirds as well as songbirds and raids them to get its place. Moreover, it searches turtle nests and digs up their eggs upon finding them. Fish Crow occasionally harasses and steals food from birds of their own species and other species including gulls, ibis, ospreys, etc.

What is an American Crow?

Source: @crowexist

• Scientific Name: Corvus brachyrhynchos
• Locality: USA and parts of Canada
• Status: Least Concern
• Breeding Season: Early April to June

The American Crows or Common Crows are known for being crafty omnivorous foragers that go around stealing food from other birds as well as animals. They use different tools to distract other species while stealing their food. Moreover, they occasionally follow the exhausted migrating songbirds and capture them. American crows have been spotted foraging on outdoor dog food, and fruits from trees as well.

Fish Crow vs American Crow: Visual Comparison

Source: @andys_avians, @rachidusa

The Fish Crow vs American Crow battle in terms of appearance can be a tough one as they have more similarities than differences. However, when looked closely they have certain dissimilarities. So in this part of the article, we have tried to provide extensive research about their visual differences. Together, let’s get ourselves familiar with them.

In terms of size, the Fish Crow is smaller than an American Crow. An American Crow can grow up to be 5 to 10 inches bigger than a Fish Crow. Moreover, their wingspan is much higher than that of a Fish Crow as well. Hence, while the American Crow is regarded as a large species, in general, the other one is regarded as a small one. However, due to variations among their own species, both of them can appear similar in size from afar.

As their size differs, their weight differs as well. The American Crows can weigh almost twice more than that of a Fish Crows.

In terms of color, both species seem to possess a similar iridescent black color in their plumage. For Fish Crows, the color variation in the upper part is blue or bluish green and the underpart possess greenish-tinted black color. In the case of American Crows, they mostly appear all black and so the iridescent shading is not clearly stated.

The texture of their plumage differs as well. While the Fish Crow possesses a smoother and glossier texture, American crows, on the other hand, possess a relatively less shiny texture on their plumage.

However, the difference in textures can only be detected while looking at them from up close, otherwise, they appear almost identical.

Both of their eyes are dark brown and even as a chick they possess a similar vibrant blue color.

There’s not a clear difference in terms of their bills and feet size. While looking from a distance, these two species can appear almost similar. But they do possess some dissimilarities. Fish Crow’s bills and feet tend to be slimmer and slender with a sharp hook on their upper bill’s end. This is uncommon for an American Crow.

While walking, Fish Crows may appear to possess shorter legs and they walk more dramatically while hunching and fluffing their throat feathers. This aspect is absent in American Crows as well.

Hence, we should always remember that all the discussed visual differences can only appear if we inspect these species from a close distance.

Visual Differences At A Glance:

The chart we have presented below will give you the basic visual differences briefly to help in your endeavor.

Fish Crow vs American Crow: Behavioral Characteristics

In terms of behavioral differences, Fish Crows and American Crows might have more distinctive differences than they possess appearance-wise. Let’s discuss them and get ourselves acquainted with these species.

One of the most distinguishing behaviors of these two species is their stage of molting. American Crows and Fish Crows molt during the summer, however, the first species is seen molting earlier than the later one. Most birds’ molting starts after they are finished breeding. As the breeding season differs for these species, the molting duration and starting period differ as well.

Source: @brendonmccullenphotography

Fish crows and American crows have similar habitat preferences due to their similar origins. However, their distribution is a bit different. American Crows or Common Crows are largely found in widespread areas of the USA and parts of Canada. Fish Crows, on the other hand, can only be found in the Eastern and Southeastern United States making it a less frequently spotted crow.

In terms of the sociability of these species,  despite being the member of the same family they possess certain differences. Between these two, Fish Crows are more gregarious and exhibit greater tendencies to congregate around human habitation.

Moreover, Fish Crows tend to form tightly-knit large flocks, forage, and roost in groups. American Crows, on the contrary, might form flocks but not as large as the former species.

Furthermore, because of the differences in their sociability, it affects their territorial behavior as well. Fish Crows tend to be more lenient allowing other birds of their species to live in their vicinity. American Crows, on the other hand, are more territorial and relatively more aggressive while defending their territory.

Almost all crows have been noted to be intelligent. It can be seen in their tool-using techniques as well as their foraging behavior. However, among all the bird species, American Crows are famed to have almost the same brain-weight-to-body ratio as humans making them the most intelligent ones. They are self-aware and with enough patience, they can easily learn different things. Fish crows are intelligent as well but not as much as the American ones.

Source: @1xyzabc2

Being omnivorous species, the dietary requirements for both Fish Crows and American Crows might vary depending on seasonal change and food availability near their habitat. But even as a couple of omnivorous species they primarily prefer different types of food.

Fish Crows favor feeding on aquatic and marine resources such as small crustaceans, invertebrates, stranded fish, live fish, etc. American Crows, however, exhibit an inclination toward foraging in a varied range of food. During winter and autumn, they feed on nuts and acorns while other times they feed on invertebrates, human food, fruits, etc.

Crows, in general, possess almost 40 different species which contain their own subspecies. In the case of Fishcrows, it was thought that there were two subspecies which later turned out to be two separate species. When it comes to American Crows, it is thought to possess about 3 to 5 subspecies.

In the wilderness, the maximum longevity of an American Crow has been recorded as 17 years 5 months while the Fish Crow is 14 years 6 months. Hence, depending on the suitability of the environment and availability of food sources, American Crows tend to live more than Fish Crows for their more adaptive behavior.

Vocalization

We have saved the most distinctive difference for last. Both American Crows and Fish crows have distinctive vocalizations that can easily help anyone tell them apart.

The American Crows are known for their most common “caaw-caaw-caaw” sound which can be heard loudly and rapidly. They can also produce a wide range of sounds and mimic the noises of other birds, animals, and even humans. They are commonly known for their ability to imitate the calling of Barred Owls.

The Fish Crows have their own unique variations in vocalization as well. Their callings are usually described as more nasal “ark-ark-ark” or a begging “waw-waw”, or a “nyuh unh” sound. Their callings also include single calls like “cahrrr”

Fish Crow Sound

American Crow Sound

Behavioral DIfferences At A Glance:

Here’s a short and easy table for you to quickly understand and compare the traits of a Fish Crow and an American Crow.

Fish Crow vs American Crow: Are There Any Behavioral Similarities?

Belonging to the same Corvidae family and Passeriformes order, Fish Crows and American Crows have various similarities in their appearance as well as behavioral aspects such as their reference for habitat, mating and breeding behavior, adaptability, etc.

Fish Crows and American crows appear more similar in their similar flying pattern. Both the species fly swiftly in rowing wingbeat. They are extremely capable of agile aerial maneuvering as well as flying in almost straight lines. Moreover, they can adjust their speed of flight whenever needed. They have daily commute flights in between their roosting and feeding regions.

The preference for habitat in both these species can change depending on factors like food availability, environmental conditions, competition with other species, etc. Apart from these changes, both these species live near urban areas for their highly adaptable nature, human-altered landscapes, open spaces, water resources, forest edges, etc. Due to their scavenging habit Fish Crow and American Crow are frequently spotted near various disposal sites.

Both species show their highly adaptive nature through the variety in their habitat preference as well as being opportunistic omnivorous species. They have a diverse diet and consume a wide array of food from nuts to fish and even small animals. They are extremely common around human habitats and often scavenge around looking for food. They do have a preferred environment for breeding and living, however, they can easily adapt themselves to changes as well.

Fish Crows and American Crows have similar mating and breeding practices. Both species are primarily monogamous and are thought to form long-term bonds with their mates. Both males and females of these species are responsible for nest construction. Moreover, the responsibility for incubation in both species usually solely depends on the female, sometimes helped by the males. They have similar incubating periods and both the sexes of these species work together to feed the younglings.

Thoughts

The argument on Fish Crow vs American Crow has finally reached an end. We could have scrutinized their characteristics visually or behavior-wise, but then this article might not end.

We believe that this fact-rich discussion will help you identify these two species even at a glance in the wilderness.

Just make sure to look closely while you are identifying one of them and take notes and most importantly enjoy their presence.

From social behavior to urban adaptation, Fish crows and American crows are not lagging behind in any aspect from other crow species. Both species are equally ecologically significant.

Hence, even if you are not a crow enthusiast you should not go out of your way to chase these species away or cause harm to them.

Starting your journey to get to know more crow species with these two species is a good idea in our opinion and most importantly, happy Crow Watching!

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