One animal, or bird type, that has zero problems surviving in the wild is the crow. These enigmatic blackbirds are said to be as intelligent as primates.
They use their intelligence to perform tasks beyond those strictly demanded by nature while gathering food. This intelligence and their remarkable foraging skills mean they can feed on nearly all edible food.
Today, we'll look at what these birds eat exploring their diet preferences.
Most people believe that crows are scavengers by nature and will feed on carrions or decaying flesh of dead animals. However, this is not true. Crows are not complete scavengers, and carrions are less than 5% of their diet.
Their beaks are not strong enough to through the decaying tissue of animals or herbaceous matter. Therefore, their diet is mostly vegetal. They rely on carrion only during winter when plants, fruits, and seeds are scarce.
Crows are commonly found in urban and suburban areas, adapting rather well with humans. This extends into the food they consume. These birds will eat just about any human food they can get their beaks on, so they are common visitors to fast-food parking lots and picnic areas.
Pizza crusts and french fries are frequent targets when crows are foraging in urban areas. Evidence has shown that crows will pilfer food right from people's hands or rummage through uncovered waste bins.
Like fruits, vegetables are not crows’ number one food source. They will only feed on it when other food is scarce or opportunity presents itself.
They feed on tubers and vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and other garden crops.
If you are growing vegetables in your garden and want to keep them out, use a mirror. It is a trick to prevent crows from eating in your vegetable garden.
Crows are omnivorous and like to eat fruits. They have a particular fancy for sweet, ripe fruits. Therefore, if you have fruit trees in your yard, especially berries from the Dogwood trees, Nightshade, and Poison Ivy plants, do not be surprised if the crows visit for a snack.
They also feed on grapes, apples, watermelons, and cherries, among other fruits. However, fruits are not their favorite food. They resort to eating fruits when everything else is unavailable.
We have all seen crows snapping up leftovers from a trash can. These birds know garbage cans contain a treasure trove of edible scraps and have devised ways to get the lids off or rip through bags. It is in these conditions that you will truly understand how intelligent these birds are.
However, as intelligent as these birds are, they have not yet understood that food scraps in trash cans might affect their health and body.
You have probably seen crows pecking the garden for insects and grubs. They eat caterpillars, armyworms, beetles, and grasshoppers, among other insects.
Most of these insects are common plant pests in many gardens, so when crows feed on them, they eliminate the need for toxic chemical insecticides.
However, as much as this helps gardeners and farmers, crows can damage gardens and plants when they dig out these insects. They might also feed on beneficial insects.
You have likely noticed crows lingering around feeding time if you own a pet. Both dry kibbles and moist canned food are delicious meals for crows. They have been known to steal bites from pet dishes left outdoors.
They might even throw some bones or dead animals your pets would love to ensure their safety and cajole your pets into sharing their food.
Seeds and nuts make up over 75% of a crow's diet. They do not have a preference and will feed on any seeds and nuts that are readily available. In some places, these crows feed on pumpkins. In others, they might feed on walnuts.
As a result, crows are often spotted on farm fields or residential areas with bird feeders. They will feed on spilled corn, barley, and other grains while foraging for food.
Interestingly, if dog bones are placed in the yard and contain marrow, crows will peck at them. Inside the bone, the soft, fatty marrow is full of nutrients, and the crows have a way of getting to it.
They have big, strong beaks with which to peck through the bone. While they might not consume the entire bone like a dog, crows are persistent and will work at a bone until they have gotten everything possible.
Now, crow heaven is the compost piles. In these piles lies an absolute smorgasbord of food leavings and organic matter, through which they can easily pick.
In case you maintain a compost pile in your yard, do not be surprised by the visit of crows to it in a regular way.
Amphibians, including frogs, toads, snakes, lizards, and especially turtles, are good game for wild crows. Crows will feed on all stages of life — eggs, hatchlings, and adult turtles.
These birds are good at foraging around ponds, streams, or any other form of water where amphibians may live. They will snatch these amphibians with their beaks from the water edge or shallower depths and fly off.
The wet habitats in which amphibians live also support many other kinds of prey. So, these habitats are notably rich hunting grounds for crows.
Apart from amphibians, crows feed on fish and mollusks if they live around wetlands and coastal areas. These birds are unafraid of wading into belly-deep water to snatch out passing prey, including minnows, Gizzard Shad, and other small fish with their beaks.
They also feed on small mollusks, including several species of clams, like the Basket Cockle and Manila Clam, they dig out of the sand.
Crows have been known to raid other birds' nests, steal eggs, and sometimes even nestlings. This behavior is typical in areas with an abundance of eggs and young birds.
The pointed beak permits crows to pierce an egg and feed on its contents, which are rich sources of protein and fats. They are known to prey on nestlings too by taking advantage of their weakness and vulnerability.
Looking at the list above, it is obvious that crows are not picky eaters and eat similar to what raccoons eat. Crows might not have a favorite food but are partial to plant matter compared to animal matter. They feed on plants more than animals.
Out of the many plant foods, corn, miscellaneous grains, and wild fruits are popular among crows. However, it is worth noting that their consumption patterns are temporary. These consumption patterns depend on feeding opportunities, seasons, and locations.
Baby crows need protein to grow quickly because they leave their nests at one-month-old. So, adult crows usually feed them animal matter rich in protein during their nestlings' first few weeks of life.
The most commonly consumed animal matter include beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, millipedes, amphibians, and reptiles, among others. As nestlings grow, they are fed larger animal scraps.
Spicy Foods: Most birds, including crows, avoid spicy foods. They can detect the capsaicin in the hot peppers, which causes a burning sensation in birds like humans.
Citrus Fruits: Crows generally avoid citrus fruits. Citrus fruits have a strong scent and contain acids that may be too harsh on their digestive system. The oils in the peel of citrus fruits may also irritate a crow's beak and feathers.
Processed Junk Food: Despite crows scavenging in human trash cans, they avoid excessively processed junk. So, even if they take a piece, they might not finish it.
Specific Toxins: Crows are intelligent enough to avoid harmful food like mushrooms and poison-dart-frog-like toxic plants.
Rotten or Spoiled Food: Extremely rotten food can be poisonous for crows, and they will avoid it.
Uncooked Grains: Raw grains like unprocessed rice and raw beans are unappetizing for the crow, as ingesting them would cause digestive unease.
Avocado: Despite being a vegetable, crows cannot eat avocados because they contain substances that may cause weakness and sudden death.
Raw Onions and Garlic: Crows cannot eat raw onions and garlic as they are pungent. The potent smell and taste overpower their taste receptors and are generally avoided by most crows.
Coffee: Unlike humans, crows do not enjoy coffee as it might induce arrhythmias and even cause cardiac arrest.
Chocolate/Sweet Treats: You might love chocolates and sweet treats, but crows will avoid them at all costs. These treats can cause digestive issues.
Moldy Food: It goes without saying that moldy food, which might be contaminated, is unsafe for most living things, including crows.
With their extraordinary intelligence and incredibly diverse skills, crows have successfully foraged in various landscapes and conditions.
Crows are also known to use tools to access food. They can use sticks and other objects to inspect food before eating and bring out-of-reach items closer when foraging.
They might also use standing water sources like bird baths and fountains to dunk dry and hard food items like bread and biscuits to soften them before swallowing. They also use the water to hydrate themselves.
One of the ways crows gather food is by relying on their physical features.
Most of the food that crows feed is picked up from the ground. These ground-foraging crows use their bills to poke, flip, slant, or pick up items and dig through sand or soil.
Apart from their bills, they will use their legs and wings to hop, fly, and run frantically to catch prey like turtles from the ground. They will also hide in high spots and watch for opportune moments to feed themselves like an unattended bird’s nest.
A crow’s physicality is not always useful in accessing food. Sometimes, their bills, legs, and wings cannot help them consume certain food items like walnuts and pecans.
These nuts have a tough shell that crows cannot break. In such situations, they will drop these nuts on hard surfaces from extremely high places while flying to crack open these nuts.
Crows also use their intelligence to hide the food they have foraged. These birds store food in secret places from other birds. They revisit these places at a later stage to eat their food alone.
Crows can also imitate human and other bird sounds to protect their food. They make these sounds to reduce competition on potential food sources.
