If you look out your window and see a black bird, it may be either a European starling, a grackle, or an American crow. If the bird is all black, 17-21 inches in length, stocky with a stout bill and fan-shaped tail, it is a crow. Listen for the telltale call of "caw-caw."

Crows are frequent visitors to yards in our area. They usually hang together in a family. Families may be made up of several generations. Some crows go off to participate in winter roosts in a large flock and some mate-less crows join another social group known as a "floater flock" in which they spend time as helpers in their natal territories.

Crows eat seeds, often breaking the shell with their bills. They've been known to crack heavy-shelled nuts by dropping them from great heights onto a hard surface. Crows are omnivorous and will eat mostly anything, including tender road kill. They practice "caching," hiding meat and nuts for a later meal. They also do "anting," positioning themselves over an anthill to let ants climb into their feathers or picking up ants and smearing them into their feathers.

If you observe crows "mobbing" in your yard, they are forming a group (also called a "murder of crows") to vocally harass and chase predators. This can be quite noisy and persistent. The crowing serves to warn other birds in the yard that enemies could be nearby.

Interestingly, crows and their caw-cawing have impacted our culture in various ways. When a vain person brags brashly or loudly, we call this "crowing." "Crow" was the last name of a black minstrel character Jim Crow and the play "Two Black Crows" came to symbolize the plight of segregated blacks in the South. For years, Joe Crow announced the daily weather forecast in our Indianapolis newspaper. In the end, while we're inclined to dismiss crows as unappealing, they are considered among the most intelligent birds and, with all their antics, can be fun to watch.