# crow population



## Crowman (May 12, 2004)

What is the total crow population in the US?


----------



## FACE (Mar 10, 2003)

:huh:


----------



## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Crows not only live alongside man, they've survived in spite of him. Because of their habits of pulling up corn shoots and occasionally robbing game bird nests, crows have been persecuted. Today, however, humans also recognize the crow's beneficial side -- in helping control harmful insects such as tent caterpillars, locusts and white grubs, in cleaning up dead road-killed birds and animals, and even our improperly disposed garbage.

Some estimates put the crow population at more than three billion in North America. Their numbers may be affected by man-made substances such as aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor and DDT that have been introduced into the environment (All are now banned). These insecticides accumulated and are still found in natural food chains and in some bird species caused local reproductive failure or thin eggshells that break during incubation. However, it's speculative whether this is the case with crows.

Each year, many crows winter in southern Pennsylvania, where weather conditions are relatively mild and food is abundant. Here, they may group into flocks of thousands of birds that congregate nightly at roosts -- spots where crows have sometimes gathered together for decades. Each day, crows fly in different directions from the roosts, feed and return at night. Most birds usually leave and return along the same route each day.

The crow is classified by the Federal government as a migratory nongame bird. It's the only bird in this classification that may be hunted. Except in Hawaii, where crows are protected, they may be hunted during established seasons which may not exceed 124 days per year. States are prohibited from establishing seasons during the peak nesting period. Individual states set season dates and regulate hunting methods, bag limits, etc., under regulation set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


----------



## Bob Aronsohn (Mar 21, 2005)

Hi fellas,
I just wanted to respond to the question as to how many crows inhabit North America. The 3 billion figure is nowhere near close! These days at most, you might have 14 to 15 million, not billion! Most of the crows in North America are concentrated in the mid section of the country during the fall and winter months. This is not to say that Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York state, Tennessee and the Carolinas don't have lots of crows as well. The main difference is that there is more trees than agriculture in the east. I know there is plenty, but when you compare say a 400 acre farm in New York state or Pennsylvania to a 10,000 acre farm or ranch in Kansas, Oklahoma or Texas you can't compare the two. Most of the crows in North America winter in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Why? All the feed and not much snow to cover up the feed.

Best regards,

Bob Aronsohn "Crow Busters Staff"


----------

