Murder: A family story

7 March 2023

The common crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is a highly social and intelligent bird, found on every continent except Antarctica.

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Who is in a "murder of crows?"

I've been seeing the same crows hang out around the same neighborhood block, and they always eyeball me back. I got curious to know who the individual birds were. Male and female crows are nearly indistinguishable, so it's hard to tell unless they are side by side. 1

Crows live together in tight-knit family groups called murders. (The term likely originates from old superstitions.) A murder comprises of a monogamous adult pair and their offspring from previous years, numbering up to 15 birds. Non-adult crows have been observed stay with their parents for up to 7 years, helping with nest-building and feeding their new siblings. Crows are territorial, protecting family nest and food resources against outsider crows. However, unrelated birds do congregate in large communal roosts in the winter, for reasons not fully understood.

1. Males are slightly larger.