Northwestern Crow
The Northwestern Crow is black with a slight purplish gloss. It is smaller and more slender than the American Crow. Its calls resemble those of the American Crow, but are somewhat hoarse. In tidal marshes Red-winged Blackbirds attack these crows, just as inland blackbirds harass the American Crow. This mobbing behavior distracts the crows from their habitual plundering and prevents them from discovering nests; thus broods of marsh birds remain largely unmolested. At cormorant or gull colonies, however, crows walk all day among incubating and brooding birds and quickly snatch any egg or hatchling accidentally exposed and left unprotected.

The Northwestern Crow scavenges refuse from beaches, along with mollusks and other shellfishes. It forages for insects, especially grasshoppers, in nearby cultivated fields and also eats crabs, mussels, dead fish and other carrion, eggs of other birds and wild and cultivated fruits. The Northwestern Crow nests in scattered pairs or in loose colonies, usually in a crotch of a low tree or bush 10 to 20 feet, but up to 70 feet, above the ground. It occasionally builds its nest on the ground under overhanging boulders, under bushes or windfalls, on the side of a sandy bank or in a hole in a cliff.

The Northwestern Crow is a year-round resident from coastal southern Alaska to the Puget Sound in Washington. It prefers shorelines, tidewater areas and edges of coastal forests.
Northwestern Crow Range Map

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