My favorite crow observation happened several years ago when I had an office overlooking a flat roof covered with round pebbles. One afternoon a crow landed on the roof with some bread in its beak. It looked around to make sure no other bird was watching, dropped the bread, moved a couple pebbles to make a hole, put the bread in and covered it up. It then put a piece of nearby moss on top of the location, either to mark it or make it look like it hadn't been disturbed, maybe both. The next morning I was back at work and the crow landed on the roof, walked up to the spot, moved the moss and pebbles, and retrieved the bread. I was impressed that the crow had basically planned for the future, executed the first half of the plan, remembered the plan overnight, and came back to complete the plan.

I actually find crows and ravens very beautiful. Especially their calls. They are very relaxing to me

I’ve been feeding a group of 8-10 crows. Several of them seem to like me talking to them. They don’t move away if I approach them. Lately someone in the group leaves me “trinkets”. The first as bone. Since then I have collected shiny blue/silver beads, part of an aluminum bottle cap and yesterday I found what looks to be a piece of an arrow shaft with worn feathers still attached. I think crows are beautiful and so intelligent. Recently I have had a crow with white wings and tail. Since then I have noticed two younger crows with a white feather in their wings. They never cease to amaze me.

I raised a Raven this summer.He chose to stay around and is uncaged. He almost learned to say hello. Barks like my dogs Blessed to have him in our lives.

I have been cawing at crows since I was about 12 years old. Now I learn here that all along I've been saying, "Move on, this territory is taken." I would like to say, "Hi, there! I'm friendly and curious."

I have been feeding my neighborhood crows for about 3 years now. unsalted raw peanuts, wild bird seed and sometimes a little dog kibble. I feel a very strong connection with these beautiful birds. they recognize me and my car and wait every morning for me to come out. there's one in particular that comes very close to my front door. I call them my babies. I have turtle doves and squirrels that all come and eat together. anyway just wanted to share that

I live in Florida and have been feeding a murder of crows every day for a lot of years - at least 5. What started with Joe and Flo, has grown over the years to Joe, Flo, Moe, Zoey (aka Zoe), Jabberjaw and Brat. I haven't named the 7th one yet just b/c it's getting to be too many. The crows have a special 3-caw call for me and will watch me through my office window while I work. They'll fly back and forth in front of the window to get my attention when they're out of food and they wake me up on the weekends by landing in the yard outside my bedroom and cawing their heads off until I come out and feed them. They've even followed my car through the neighbprhood before, and one time I had one of them flying beside me at car window height (so cool). They're a pretty funny group. Now after all these years, I was shocked when Joe tried mimicking my voice today by saying, "Num-num peanut." I'm not kidding in the least. At first I thought a mourning dove had landed right outside my patio near Joe, but then when I watched Joe for a while, who was only about 8ft away from me & refusing to eat the dog kibble & mealworms I put out (because I'm out of peanuts), I then realized the sounds were coming from him. He'd close his beak and I could see the feathers on his throat puff out and move up and down as he ducked his head beneath the patio railing to look at me while repeatedly making these 4-syllable sounds I'd never heard before. Since I'm out of peanuts and hadn't given them any today, I finally realized he was trying to say what I say to them every day, multiple times a day, "Num-num peanut." So I ran inside and robbed 2 peanuts from my rescue squirrel, Willamina, and took them to Joe. I showed him that I had one peanut in my hand, then I slowly said the phrase a few times w/out giving it to him. Sure enough he did the 4-syllable throat sounds again, and proceeded to do it each time after I'd say it. Needless to say he got the 2 peanuts and I have more on the way! While it doesn't sound exactly right, he's trying to talk and this is the best "crow gift" I could possibly get.

I absolutely LOVE ravens! They are intelligent, playful and tenacious. I have never seen a bird enjoy playing in the wind-getting thrown head over tea kettle, and then going back for more-as much as a raven.

I remember hearing the old tales of Oden and his ravens Hugin and Munin as a child. Ever since Ive been fascinated with these animals. They are so beautiful and intelligent.

Everyone I’ve ever known complains about ravens and crows where we live for always being annoying and getting into their garbage, but I find them so fascinating. Even people saying they’re ugly, but I don’t see it. I’ve been trying to put out food that it’s okay for them to eat - hopefully so they’ll know I’m not like my neighbors. I’ve noticed more over the last couple years of doing it that both hang around in my yard way more compared to everyone else’s nearby. My MIL even made the comment “is this the crow gathering place or something? my lord there’s so many” when she stopped in one day and they were all in my front yard and perched around my fountain and benches. I guess I’m building my own army lol.

There's a little crow at our nature center named Edgar, and he has the most classiest caw ever, I never heard any other crow caw like him but he has a very apparent high class caw, like a fine british man with a monocle and everything. He straight up says "Caww~" I wonder if there's any other crows that can do this?

I don't know much about crows, but I do know that they have an excelent memory, and it also seems that they practice an honor system of sorts. A friend, after nursing an injored crow back to health, found that an entire murder was watching/protecting his property. One day he was checking on his old van that he'd only use a few times a year, and saw a murder sitting on it. As he aproched, they started to take flight, and then one crow called, and they all landed back where they were. One crow flew back and forth between him and the van until he got to the van. He found that there was a part partially removed, which took him about a minute to fix, and his van was okay. Most likely, thanks to the crows. He started putting food out for them after that. Also, when I was with him, if the murder was there, we were able to walk among them. Because of how the crows acted around my friend, I'm thinking there should be some studies about how crows and ravens interact with other spiecies. It would be awesome if studies find that type of response to a friendly human may be more common than we think.

I'm no more than a casual bird watcher, but we have a bajillion crows in Seattle. I've noticed that the rattle sound is almost invariably given from a high perch just as a crow discovers some food source below. It seems to be an invitation to others (family?), something like "Hey guys, look what I found."

I have a fsmily of ravens on my property, and they just a delight! They play in the sprinkler and mimic when I say "good morning." I just can't help but smile.

I confess: I feed crows (peanuts every morning). The idea that the strong caa caa vocalization is (just) a territorial "Mine" warning is not born out by my local crows. It also seems to mean "Come & get it" for the family: often when a single crow sees me put out peanuts, it will alert with loud calls that would be quite unnecessary as a warning, but instead will summon a few other crows to join in the feeding.

Raven calls always remind me of beautiful times in the mountains!

For a couple years now I've been friends with a couple of Ravens. Now this spring they have a youngster, and so there are three of them that come visit me near the water for snacks. I get raw chicken eggs and run thru the forest hiding them in different places, and the ravens chase after me to keep an eye on where I hide them so they can retrieve them as a rewarding snack.

First time i came across ravens in the mountains they were quietly croaking. It was early in the morning and the mist was rising amongst the pine and hemlock. A family of ravens were slowly crackling amongst the branches. It was amazing, but beautifully eerie at the same time

The crow’s “this is my territory and I’m here” caw just reminds me of John Mulaney’s “someONEs in HeRe! SomeonES IN here!”

The crow's "caw" is one of my favorite sounds. Totally relaxes me.

Needed to know whether I saw and heard a crow or raven. According to this video these were ravens. Truly appreciate this video. ✨💖✨🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

I listen to crows when outside, because I can sense they have a lot to say to each other. Fascinating birds

Very interesting video. I hike frequently in the hills near my house, in rural Japan. The valley is covered in fruit orchards and the steep hills behind my house are full of various fruit and nut-bearing trees, so the population of crows is large. The ones who have territories along my hiking route clearly recognize me, and often "chat" with bursts of caws, as I go by. Other times I can hear them gliding into a tree just behind me to spy, and if I stop still, theyll give a little caw to say "OK ... you know Im here". The reason for the preface is that I wanted to make a particular observation and hope whoever reads it will understand it to be based on experience, and offer a helpful response. I imagine that "crow language" is different for Japanese macrorhynchos, but probably the major groups of calls are similar across species In my experience, the little chuckles heard at 1:36 and 2:42 seem to be expressions of delight or curiosity. I most commonly hear it when a large flock finds a batch of overripe peaches or kiwis that have been left to rot on a recently abandoned orchard. In this case it is quite loud and may even be letting others in the neighborhood know that the feast is on. However when I hear it from an isolated individual, it almost always involves them finding food or playing with something they find "curious". I sometimes leave dry dog food for them, and if there's one nearby I usually get a "chuckle" in response.

love this. ravens are beautiful. seeing lots recently.

I'm so glad I found this! I've had one crow I named Bing Crowsby visiting for the longest time. This morning he brought a friend Ive named Joan Crowford. They will come within about 3 feet of me. I absolutly adore these guys. Thanks!

Whenever there are big hawks patrolling around, the crows are usually flying near them trying to terrorize them. It is amazing to see. Today, a squirrel mother (of 5 babies) knew the hawks were around before I ever heard or saw them. She stood stock still for about 5 minutes, just watching - i knew she was alarmed. She coralled all her babies up the tree to safety and then 5 minutes later the hawks arrived. There is a crow here that must have had some human contact because it usually says "hello" - especially when it see me. The other wild ones have learned to say it, too. Its funny to hear them announce themselves. I have not identified any ravens yet, but I am sure they are around here somewhere - in central NJ. Mostly i see bluejays, cardinals, woodpeckers, wrens, chickadees and grackles visit my yard. We have only one pair of yellow finches that I see occasionally. Purple finches and house finches should be around but I never see them. Your videos (and Cornell) have really helped me learn about all the birds around my yard! Thanks!

My ABSOLUTE FAVORITES of all birds. ❤ I find crows and ravens so very interesting, fascinating, and beautiful. I absolutely LOVE them and find such pleasure & joy in my interactions with them. Love their distinctive vocalizations. Also, a big fan of Dr. Kevin's work. Thanks for posting !!

I love crows, I admire their intelligence and ability to adapt to extreme weather conditions. I wonder how they get water.

I live in the Mojave at altitude and have both crows and ravens. Fully grown, they are easy to distinguish. We have a lot Ravens out here, and there is a couple that live nearby that post themselves outside my house on a utility pole and like to chat with me. I caw to them, they return it and sometimes follow me and my dogs for walks returning my caws.

I was in Dallas last week and saw and heard two crows talking to each other in a tree with unusual calls: first a raspy quacking sound followed by Coo Coo! I have never heard any other bird other than doves that coo, but there they were. Both quaking and cooing. My sister also heard them and we just stood there amazed.

Ah it's the chuckling sound I heard today while standing on my balcony! I live on the 15th/top floor and there's a large pigeon colony on the roof which attracts a red tailed hawk couple once or twice a month. But this year the crows have come too. Not being able to see them properly, I didn't know they were actually ravens! I live in Toronto Ontario, which has a LOT of different birds despite being a large city. We have extensive tracts of maintained but unmanicured parkland where I've seen the return of certain wildlife such as red squirrels (which I had never seen before a few years ago). The explanations and differentiation between calls was very interesting and useful. Thank you.

Ravens fascinate me more than any other animal! I am very thankful that they are coming back into my area (in the heart of the Appalachians in WV) so I can watch them and hear their calls! This is a great video, keep them coming!

Love crows & ravens! What fascinating creatures!

No love for the fish crow? The fish crow says "QUACK!"

I have been feeding peanuts to a murder of crows for several months. A few weeks ago, I put out a hard boiled egg. After 2 hours of inspecting it, they finally ate it, and LOVED it. This morning I put out another egg. I heard the Caw, caw, caw from different directions, and then seconds later they were eating the eggs. This afternoon, I went out to fill up the peanut ring, and for the first time, they stayed in a near by tree and rattled and cooed for me. Normally they watch me from a 30 foot high tree across the street. I think the rattle and coo are signs of affection? They were real happy that I was filling up the ring, and tossing a few their way.

Growing up, my family went camping a lot. The caws of the crows were what woke me up every morning. I’m very fond of these beautiful birds and their calls.

The croak of ravens is so achingly beautiful and nostalgic to me because they're incredibly common in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. My brother inherited land from our grandmother when she passed, during the day you can hear the ravens calls to each other echo from shore to shore. During the night you hear barred owls hoot high in the evergreen canopy. The land belongs to the Salish people of the Northern Coast of Washington.

Thank you for sharing, crows and ravens are great!

So I was playing this trying to figure out what kinds of birds pulled up in front of a pot hole with a bit of water in it by my home and the raven noise scared a few of them and made them fly away lol. No birds where harmed in the process. I think it's interesting how ive been seeing more animals willing to be around humans in my community recently.

I’ve had a pair of ravens fly over my house twice in the last two days making these wonderful sounds. They seem to have a home close to mine. I knew right away it wasn’t just the local crows from the neighboring farm. This video helped me confirm my intuition that it was indeed ravens. Thank you so much for this video!

Thank you. This may have answered my observation to friends that there's a crow in our neighbourhood that sounds like a duck.

In Petersburg, AK there is a raven (I think?) that sounds like a cat. He/she hangs out near the main dock downtown and meows. The local think it's a riot b/c the tourists look for a cat, and finally figure it is a raven, up on a building. This was about 3 years ago I saw, heard this bird, smart bird. He/she liked the attention.

I watched this video last week with interest as I walk at a park that has both crows and ravens. Early this morning as I walked there I heard a loud croaking and knew immediately that it was a raven! Your video clearly explained the difference in calls. Thanks!

I have a pair of birds that live in my neighborhood that for the life of me I cannot figure out if they are crows or ravens. This has been really helpful, I think I figured out they are ravens

I love crows and ravens they're such amazingly intelligent creatures it's almost scary. When I first watch this video a crow call and a raven croak almost sounded identical but after playing this video several times and actually turning on my brain went out in nature and consciously paying attention I can now hear the distinct difference between a raven and a common American crow. To me this knowledge is very useful and I appreciate the video brother!

I just watched your caw versus croak video, from 2014, because I was questioning whether crows and ravens caw in loud rapid succession when there is a predator in their area. And I'm here to tell you they do! First-hand experience now within the last few days, twice I have noticed that they do act as a warning when a coyote has been in my area. I was amazed! So now I always gave out the window when I hear their unusual incessant squawking as a warning to heed! amazing! Who knew?👍

I like raven sounds

I feed my Ravens everyday....I can call them( people think Im nuts) and usually they come...I feed them peanuts in the shell

10 years later and this video is still helping to educate so thank you for making it😁

I love and communicate with Crows everywhere I go. Ravens sounded like prehistoric beasts to me, when I first heard them here. I love all their sounds. Try to talk back to them in their language. Like how they talk to their babies. They have a little Chicken sound when they're content. After you feed them a bunch and they're just chillin'. I keep peanuts in my pockets and they follow me down the road...cause I don't drive.

Thank you for sharing this, very helpful! I, too, love our Crows and Ravens!

Thank you, Cornell lab!

We have a family of crows staying in our woods. On Easter, we saw one of them flying back to the nest with a corn muffin in its mouth!! Since then, we feed them our stale bread when we can. They’re so neat to watch and listen to. I’m glad they feel comfortable living so close to us.

Love this! I surprisingly came across a family of Ravens right here in Toronto and got some great call variances. Will be uploading a few videos I could take. :-)

Thank you Kevin McGowan and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Great to learn new things. I wish you could have played the "bell" sound that crows make. It is one of my favorite bird calls to hear, in my garden, and rarely happens. I communicated with one "crow expert" online and he said he'd never heard the "bell," but had heard tell of it. I do love crows . . . Thanks again for putting this together and posting it.

Thank you. I am fascinated with Crows and I just love them. They do a lot of talking to me, just not sure what they are saying. They seem to fly pretty close to me often, especially when I am on my motorcycle.

Fun fact: Crows speak with a pronounced Boston accent. We know this because every time a vehicle drives by, they all shout "Cah! Cah!"

Some ravens sound almost like frogs on occasion, as well.

After observing the crows in my town since childhood I think there is a lot more than just "I'm here, this is my area" being said with the caws. Has anyone else sat in on their town meetings? I've seen this happen about a half dozen times around my town over the last 20 years with 2 incidents being in a tree right next to my house. From I can tell once or twice a year all the crows in the town (tens to low 100) gather and have a meeting on a tree, its never the same tree twice from what I can tell. Then they talk, lots of caws of varying pitches, speeds and lengths. Its very much like a meeting we would have. One or two crows will talk for a few moments then there is a silence, then the rest of the crows will pipe in for a few moments then a silence then another singular crow will talk and so on for anywhere from half hour to an hour from what I've seen. During one of these meetings I always observed them completely go silent as a seagull started to fly near overhead maybe 40~ish feet away and above. A few low caws and noises were made in the flock and two crows flew up from the tree and met the seagull in the air and escorted it away. Once the they were far enough away the meeting continued for about another several minutes then eventually concluded and all the crows took off at once. Honestly thought the tree was gonna snap on several branches from the force of them taking off and them snapping back. So yeah, just my 2 cents, just think they might have a bit more going on than simple territorial squaks going on.

For four years of high-school there was a crow living around the school property that had the strangest pitch I'd ever heard, I really wish I had thought to record it. It was definitely making crow sounds, just in an almost cartoony voice, and the voice was always the same. Very nice video though, I loved it. :)

Recently I was sitting under a tree where two crows were having a conversation above me. Then, one of them changed it's tone and said "no no no." It caught me totally by surprise and I had to laugh.

As upsetting as it was to learn I'd been doing a crow's caw for one of my dnd players's pet raven, this was a lovely video, and very informative! Thank you for your work!

I am so excited to find out I have a lovely pair of ravens visiting my yard multiple times a day. At first I thought we had just crows hanging around, but then i learned differently when one day I came out to hear all the birds in the neighborhood in quite an uproar. I stepped forward to investigate and spied a very large hawk surveying my yard far high up in a tree. Right there next to him (on the branch!)- were two very large black birds, and they were giving it a mighty bit of misery. They very were up close and personal! When the hawk had had enough, they accompanied it away - they ESCORTED it out of the neighborhood, one on each side. It was then I knew that they were indeed ravens, because crows usually will not escort a hawk off - they harass and dive bomb it. Just then, I saw the crows getting in on the act - and noticed the great difference in size and behavior between the ravens and the crows as well as HEAR the difference between a "cronk" and a "caw"! I learned that the ravens visit because they love the branches of a particular tree - working twigs from it and carrying them away to build a nest somewhere nearby. I know its nearby, they come right back within 5 minutes or so for more (unless they are eating the buds?). It is early spring, and the twigs and buds are very tender. They will sit high up in this tree and watch me carefully - they now know I share food with the other birds, and I think they are working out how to safely get in on the action! They "talk' back and forth with each other, and now - with me! They call, I answer in imitation, and then i call and THEY answer in tone and length. I watched as the male gently approached the female and offered her some food. It was a gift for ME to see this - as much as it was for the female to receive it! I can't wait till I see them fly 'in unison' or better yet - do that "upsidedown" flight feat! I was hoping they would build a nest here - they still may (but my yard is far too busy for the privacy and safety they like) but at least I get to see them every day. I live in a fairly populated suburb, but there is plenty of wooded area nearby. For many years, ravens were not spotted in New Jersey- but lately they are making a healthy come-back! By the way, my son graduated from Cornell -what a wonderful school. He has a degree in the philosophy of mechanical engineering - and went on for his doctorate at the University of Wisonsin. What I love about Cornell is their Ornithology department. What a great place to learn everything about our feathered friends!

Thank you! My family wanted to know the difference between the two and the sounds help!

Thanks for putting the calls in the first 15 seconds!

Every morning I wake up to the same crow cawing- it’s a nice alarm but it gets irritating when you want to sleep in 😅

Thank you for furthering my education about these amazing birds, Mr. McGowan! 😁😁 I saw 7 Crows in our backyard Red Maple yesterday, and I was enthralled!!! 💖💖 Our loving Creator has given us millions of species of animal life for our wonderment and delight! 🙏🙏 Today I saw about a dozen Blackbirds feasting on bird seed my wife put out on our concrete patio! 😍😍

Nice information, they also seen to have different alarm sounds depending the predator... for example, not the same alarm if they see a cat, than if they see a hawk. I am very impress of how smarts crows and ravens are. Most people have no idea about all these little black fellas can do.

Excellent and clean bird sound recordings. No background noise! I appreciate isolated bird calls, songs, or sounds that are not interrupted by traffic noise, background talk, or the clicking of camera adjustments. It simply throws the nature aspect of it out of the window.

Your voice is so relaxing. This is interesting, I heard crows make different sounds in different countries as well.

Thank you for this. I love both birds so much. I love when they visit my yard.

Thank you for this clarification! I've always been confused.

thank you Kevin.

Thank you for that! I'm trying to teach my kid about the difference of crows and ravens. I know but she was born in a country where the birds are still developing into these complex animals

Great video! Excellent recordings and explanations.

I saw a raven in Algonquin Park during leaf season a few years ago. It was perched on a bench and we were watching each other for a couple minutes. This winter I saw one where I live in Fergus, ON, which is slightly outside their typical range. Hopefully a sign of a comeback in southern Ontario, they're one of my favorite birds.

Thankyou for the video. I've befriended some local crows and wanted to know more about their calls

I've had a family of crows for 6 yrs. I whistle and they fly to me its very thrilling. They let me get close to them. Yes I feed them green beans, eggs, etc. They protect my yard and bird station from hawks. I just heard one very close to me make what I think must be mating sound. He lowered his head and made a beautiful wa on wa on cooing sound. Absolutely astounding ❤️

I always wondered what the difference was in their calls. Thanks! This is great information!

I live only 20 minutes drive from Sanibel Island, Florida and I was on a beach on the island not too long ago & a crow sat right up close next to me as I was eating popcorn on my beach chair and I broke up the pieces of popcorn to make them smaller and shared it with him he stayed by me for a while, a couple even walked by and said it looks like you've got company. Love crows & ravens!

We have so many crows here in the California East Bay Area but hardly any ravens at all. In fact, I'd never fully understood the distinction between crows and ravens until I spent some time up in Humboldt County and constantly heard that haunting "gronk" of ravens. They were everywhere up there. Big, beautiful birds.

Great observations. I've noticed that the younger crows down here in the deep South have a different timbre voice than the adult crows.

This was wonderful thank you so much

Thank you for sharing this!! I never knew the difference between the two. I love listening to the sound of crows and ravens, at one time in my neigborhood, the crows were gone to a disease. It was really sad, but now we have them all the time. I am so happy to say. =;)

I was just awakened by the most unnerving trumpet like screeches in my front yard this morning. It was like an alarm. I saw a large black bird. Your video helped me to understand it must be a raven.

Cool presentation man! Thanks

Thank you! This has been very informative.

Well i have to say i was looking up crow sounds for some stuff i do online and this was very educational and helped more then i thought it would thank you !!

I also hear them make a soft cooing sort of like owl, and a complex quiet kackling that a crow woke me up from a nap with.

Surrounded by amazing crows sounds they travel everywhere

Beautiful birds.

Great video! Thank you!😊

I came here because the tree across the way is full of relatively large black birds but still of varying sizes, they’re too far for me to see their beaks, and it was the clicks and rattles that threw me off! I was like, am I finally hearing a raven? Nope! But so cool to know what they all might be talking about! Awesome video!!

This was very informative! Thanks.

I just played this while sitting in my bedroom. And then I heard some intense knocking at my window. I went into the living room and there was a HUGE crow knocking on my window...it must have heard the call from my computer. Wow.

I have recently made friends with a crow and his little wife in my back yard. They are fascinating to watch and listen to every day. The drama has increased when the eagle returned to nest atop the highest tree above their nesting area. I swear the alpha male crow Sammy was barking orders for an arial show of force then afterward members of the murder flew directly over the eagle's nest one at a time. I have also witnesses domestic squabbles between Sam and his wife. You can certainly tell when their caws are irritated and/or commanding. Sammy meows like a cat to get my attention for food. It is hilarious. I meow back and we do this back and forth taking turns for 8 or 9 in a row each. He hangs out on my deck and looks deeply into my eyes but keeps his distance. So beautiful to make a connection with a wild animal. Maybe someday he will let me pet him. :)

I have a family of crows living in the forest that is my backyard and I have started feeding them unsalted peanuts in the shell each morning. They are getting used to the routine and I see them circling overhead when I come out with the big bowl of peanuts. I will also start to put kibble mixed with the peanuts out there. My Carolina chickadees always eat up all the suet. I love these birds and smile each morning I wake up and hear their calls.

A crow hung out in my backyard for over 10 yrs. He would sit on the back wooden shed and watch me. I would run to the back of the yard to chase the squirrels out of the bird feeder (they had their own feeder with corn) and he watched. One day he decided to take the job on his own and chase and screech at the squirrel then look at me for approval. He did this every day. I have a great picture of him leaning over the shed to the feeder and telling the squirrel to leave. lol He was my friend . He also would fly to the windsheild of my truck when I came home to greet me. One day he followed my truck to the grocery store. He was fun to have around.

Thank you Kevin, very cool

These two birds are awesome!