Carrion Crow

Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758

48–52 cmLength91 cmWingspan570 gWeight

This large crow is black overall, with a blue, purple and green metallic gloss to the feathers.

Busiest months: April–May and October · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal

Looks like Large-billed Crow, Rook

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Black overall, including the bill, legs and feet
Blue, purple and green metallic gloss to the feathers, conspicuous in side lighting
Bill finer than that of Large-billed Crow
No bare grayish-white area at the base of the upper bill

Male, female and young

The sexes have the same shape and coloration; juveniles have brownish feathers and blue eyes that gradually darken as they mature.

Voice

A harsh, low “kraa”, often given three or four times in succession.

Similar species

Large-billed Crow

Carrion Crow is slightly smaller, though this is apparent only when the two species are seen together; its bill is finer.

Rook

Rook has a bare grayish-white area at the base of the upper bill, which Carrion Crow lacks; Rook's call is high-pitched, while Carrion Crow's is lower.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April–May and October · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal

Carrion Crow has been recorded at 1,520 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 45 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Amwell HMWT NRUnited Kingdom7,859 records
Minsmere RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom5,164 records
Beddington FarmlandsUnited Kingdom4,951 records

More places

WWT London Wetland CentreUnited Kingdom3,831 records
Urdaibai RB – bird center y laguna de OruetaSpain3,800 records
Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom3,780 records
Walthamstow WetlandsUnited Kingdom3,663 records
Spurn Bird Observatory Recording AreaUnited Kingdom3,647 records
Rainham Marshes RSPB Reserve, SSSI and LNRUnited Kingdom3,583 records
Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira – área geralPortugal3,578 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United Kingdom Spain Portugal Germany Japan France Switzerland Netherlands

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The carrion crow (Corvus corone) is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae, native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic. Along with the hooded crow (Corvus cornix), the carrion crow occupies a similar ecological niche in Eurasia to the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) in North America. The two species look very similar to one another, but can be differentiated by size, as the carrion crow is larger and of a stockier build compared to the American crow.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia