Crows are birds that have black and white-colored bodies. They also have a long, slender beak and a pronounced black and white crest on their head. These birds can be spotted in many areas around the world. 

Are you interested in learning about the role that crows play in the ecosystem? Are you curious about why you see so many crows around your neighborhood?

Crows are omnivores and often prey on other birds for convenience, especially when injured birds or unattended chicks. They also slay crows outside their familial group when protecting fellows or food sources. However, when a crow within their family dies, they will reunite and mourn the loss. 

Crow’s Diet and Habits

Meat is not a crow’s main food source and mostly looks for an easy meal like nuts, berries, or grains. When a crow feeds on another bird, it is always smaller because they do not possess large talons or sharp beaks to take on something larger than itself.

Crows steal the eggs or newly hatched chicks of other birds. They are also known to drop nuts and seeds onto the ground, such as rocks or even mountains, to break them open. Interestingly, studies have found that crows use and create their equipment out of sticks and other resources to help them acquire food.

How Do Crows Get Their Food?

Although crows are opportunistic feeders and will digest whatever is at hand, they fly up to a few miles from their roosting site in search of food. Crows look for food in groups and will post sentries to watch for hawks while they wander around.

Crows are also known for being egg stealers and will look around trees and bushes to look for the eggs and nestlings of other birds. In cities, you may spot them around trash bins and dumpsters and eat anything readily.

What Do Baby Crows Eat?

Once the eggs hatch, the nestlings will primarily eat regurgitated, partially digested food provided by their parents and older siblings every 30 minutes. As the nestlings mature, the parents will eventually start giving them small bits of meat and insects to digest.

What Do Large Crows Eat?

Crows readily steal and eat the eggs of several other bird species, including songbirds, if given a chance. They also eat many other insect pests and small animals such as rodents, small rabbits, some reptiles, and marine species.

You will see the huge amount of food available to large crows and be amazed by the size and quantity of food they can consume. Not only that, but you’ll know exactly what they’re eating and how much it takes to utilize their dietary resources

What Types of Birds Do Crows Eat? 

1. Baby Birds or Nestlings

Crows are known to wander around trees and house backyards to look for nestlings and eggs.

Baby birds or nestlings not being watched by their mother are the most common target of crows as they cannot protect themselves, thus becoming easy prey for crows.

2. Small Birds

Crows can also eat all types of birds with a smaller body build than theirs. They are intelligent enough to know if a bird is safe to eat or dangerous to them. While they are capable of attacking bigger birds that are easy to slay, they prefer smaller birds.

3. Domestic Birds

Domestic birds are easy to find because they settle in widely accessible lands and farms, effortlessly detected by crows. Examples of these are chickens or pigeons that can be easily devoured or, at the very least, weakened by small accidents. For this reason, a crow’s diet is made up of diving into these birds.

4. Dead Birds

The eating of carrion is another behavior of crows. Thus, they would eat whatever type of bird or animal it is. Crows are known for being scavengers. Once they see their prey or any dead body of a bird lying around, they will dig into it.

What Birds Do Crows Eat?

We know that crows eat a lot of different types of food. They eat almost anything! But what exactly are the types of birds that they prey on?

1. Owls

Owls and crows don’t get along. Crows will bully and attack owls and even kill them once they see one during the daytime, another way for the crow to feast on them. The owl’s death has forced it to take advantage of this chance, and it has an entire meal in its belly. 

2. Chickens

Crows eat chickens when they are hungry and when chances arise because they are easy prey for birds like crows. Farms are where chickens reside and come in groups. Crows can easily catch chickens because they are faster, and they can eat chicken’s eggs too.

3. Pigeons

While pigeons provide good amounts of protein and fat, they are also good prey for crows. Crows hunt birds like pigeons because they are a part of a crow’s diet. They have the advantage because their beaks are made for tearing flesh while pigeon beaks aren’t, and they get to them by following the pigeon’s flight patterns.

Why Do Crows Attack One Another?

A crow may attack other crows when they are outsiders because crows are territorial when they are sick or injured to prevent the spread of lethalities when teaching to fight to bequeath and teach their skills, and when bullying to gang up weaker crows.

Conclusion

Crows usually eat other birds and mammals, but they are still not considered “birds of prey.” In addition, they are not solely scavengers, making them unique and interesting opportunistic feeding birds.

A crow’s curiosity is what gets them into trouble, and its tendency to steal eggs gives them a bad image.

Despite this reputation, crows have a lot in common with birds that humans keep as pets. Crows can learn and remember faces and even mimic sounds.

Crows are worthy of learning about and understanding.