The American crow is a common sight in Northeast Ohio. Easily identifiable, they are a large black bird with a short tail and straight all black beak. As one of the most intelligent birds in North America, they have adapted to live in cities, farmlands and woodlands. Crows are very social animals and are often in groups. Although groups of crows are commonly referred to as a murder of crows, this is only a poetic term and are actually considered a flock. Like many birds, they will mob falcons and other perceived predators who get to close to their nests. Crows have more than 20 calls with the most well-known being the “caw.” The different calls are used for communicating with each other, such as a fledgling begging for food or an alert call that a predator is nearby.
Omnivorous and opportunistic, they will eat almost anything they can find including seeds, fruits, frogs, and even garbage. Crows will scavenge by roads and other places with high food waste volume. They will break open mollusks and hard seeds by flying up and dropping them on rocks to get at what is inside. Anything undigestible is later expelled as pellets. They have a fairly good memory, often returning to places where they have previously found food.
Mimic
Mimic is an adult male American crow. He came to the Kevin P. Clinton Wildlife Center in the summer of 2012 as a nestling when his nest fell. He was raised with another crow who was able to be released. Mimic, however, exhibited signs of trusting humans and being more comfortable interacting with people than with members of his own species. When animals lose their natural and necessary fear of humans, it is called “imprinting.” Mimic thought of his human handlers as his family. Crows are highly social creatures, so being imprinted meant he was not able to be released into a wild crow family. Mimic is person specific and is only able to be handled by specific staff whom he trusts. During programs, Mimic will accept dollar bills from park visitors and drops the dollars into the donation box. He enjoys enrichment activities including walks around the park and puzzle feeders. These activities simulate wild behavior and encourage interaction with his environment. Crows are highly-intelligent birds and Mimic gets his name from his ability to mimic sounds and behaviors.