American crow

Ask a farmer or a birder in Manitoba about crows and you will get a strong opinion. They arrive in loose, noisy groups in March, walking across the thawed fields with a confident swagger. To the casual eye they are just black birds, but up close the feathers carry a faint purple-blue sheen in the sun.

Crows are among the most intelligent birds anywhere. Studies show they can recognize individual human faces, use simple tools, and pass that knowledge to their young. Family groups stay together, and young birds often help raise the next brood. Many crows head south for winter, but some stay through the cold, gathering at dusk in big communal roosts that can number in the hundreds.

Here is one of my favourite frames of this bird.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.