6 Types Of Crows and Magpies In Indiana (And Their Calls)

These highly intelligent and widely distributed birds called corvids or crows are known as the smartest birds and include colorful jays, large ravens, magpies, nutcrackers, and crows.

Crows are among the most intelligent of birds and show skills equivalent to a 7-year-old child. They make tools to get bugs out of crevices and even to fish with!

Crows are omnivores and will eat whatever is available and this can cause problems when they target trash and it can give them a bad reputation. They are also associated with death and bad omens in folklore.

There are 6 types of crows in Indiana and these include Blue Jays, American Crows, Fish Crows, Common Ravens, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, and Black-billed Magpies.

Love them or hate them they are fascinating birds to watch and so check out all the corvids in Indiana.

6 Crows in Indiana:

1. Blue Jay

Blue Jays are very common in Indiana and are spotted in the state all year. They are recorded in 44% of summer checklists and 39% of winter checklists submitted by bird watchers for the state.

Blue Jays are common large songbirds with a blue upright crest, blue and black backs, and white undersides. 

  • Cyanocitta cristata
  • Length: 9.8-11.8 in (25-30 cm)
  • Weight: 2.5-3.5 oz (70-100 g)
  • Wingspan: 13.4-16.9 in (34-43 cm)

Blue Jays live in eastern US states and Southern Canada all year. Some birds will migrate west for winter but not very frequently.

They are noisy birds that travel in family groups eating acorns when available. They can be found in forests, especially near oak, as they eat acorns. They can also be found in backyards near feeders. 

As well as acorns, they eat insects, nuts and seeds, and grain. They may also take eggs from nests or take nestlings.

Blue Jay sounds: They usually make a variety of quite harsh calls using clicks, peeps, ‘caws’, and whistles. Blue Jays also have a gentle fluted song during courtship.

Blue Jays are large birds and prefer to fly in, grab a peanut or sunflower seed and take it away to feed. They prefer platform or tray feeders to make it easy to make a quick exit.

Attract Blue Jays to your backyard with peanuts, sunflower seeds, and suet on tray feeders or hopper feeders on a post. They will also enjoy a birdbath.

Fun fact: Blue Jays will play with shiny objects such as aluminum or bottle caps, and they will carry them around, dropping them and picking them up.

2. American Crow

American Crow for identification

American Crows can be found all year in Indiana and are spotted in up to 35% of summer and winter checklists for the state.

American crows are large all-black birds, including their legs and bills. They have slightly glossy feathers.

  • Corvus brachyrhynchos
  • Length: 15.8-20.9 in (40-53 cm)
  • Weight: 11.2-21.9 oz (316-620 g)
  • Wingspan: 33.5-39.4 in (85-100 cm)

American Crows are residents all year in the lower 48 and the Pacific Coast of Canada and Alaska. Those that breed in Canada and the northern Midwest migrate south for winter.

They are common birds that can be found in most habitats, including treetops, woods, fields, beaches, or towns.

They eat most things and usually feed on the ground, eating earthworms, insects, seeds, and fruit. They also eat fish, young turtles, mussels, and clams and will even eat eggs and nestlings of many species of birds.

American Crow Sounds: They make a hoarse, cawing sound

Nests of American Crows are usually high up in conifers and oak and are made from sticks. They lay 3 – 6 eggs, and these take just under three weeks to hatch and a further five weeks to fledge.

Attract American Crows to your backyard by scattering peanuts, but they can become a nuisance as attracted by garbage or pet food if left out.

Fun Fact: American Crows gather in large numbers of up to two million crows in winter to sleep in communal roosts.

3. Fish Crow

Fish Crow

Fish Crows spend the breeding season in the south of Indiana and are usually spotted from April to August but they are rare and are considered accidental species in the state.

Fish Crows look the same as American Crows, with all black glossy coloring and strong, sturdy bodies. Only their calls are different. They have slightly rough throat feathers, which they puff out when calling. Males and females look the same.

  • Corvus ossifragus
  • Length: 14.2-15.8 in (36-40 cm)
  • Weight: 6.9-11.6 oz (195-330 g)
  • Wingspan: 33.1 in (84 cm)

Fish Crows are resident along the east coast from Texas up to Maine. They will occasionally move short distances in winter.

You can find Fish Crows near water, including beaches, rivers, and marshes. Like most crows, they are also often found near humans as they will eat most things, not just fish as their name would suggest. Grain, fruit, eggs, and baby birds, are all on the menu, as well as crabs and other marine life.

Fish Crow sounds: A typical crow ‘caw,’ but more nasal than the American Crow.

Nests of Fish Crows are in trees or mangroves and are made from bundles of sticks and filled with mud and softer material such as moss, pine needles, and bark.

They lay 2 – 6 eggs, and these take around two and a half weeks to hatch and a further four to five weeks to fledge.

Fun Fact: Fish Crows form massive, noisy flocks in their hundreds of thousands in winter.

4. Common Raven

Common raven

Common Ravens are considered rare or accidental species in Indiana and they have only been spotted around Indiana Dunes National Park.

Common Ravens are thought to be one of the smartest and definitely one of the largest species in the songbird family. They have shaggy throat feathers, large black beaks, and wedge-shaped tails.

  • Corvus corax
  • Length: 22.1-27.2 in (56-69 cm)
  • Weight: 24.3-57.3 oz (689-1625 g)
  • Wingspan: 45.7-46.5 in (116-118 cm)

Common Ravens are resident in Canada, western US states, northeastern US states, Mexico, and northern Central America. They are not found in the Great Plains or eastern US states.

You can find Common Ravens in most places, and they especially follow humans. Forests, beaches, fields, grasslands are all places to find them and rural human areas. They are not common in towns and cities as American Crows take over.

Not known as picky eaters, Common Ravens will eat most things, including any small animals, eggs and nestlings, plus insects and fish. Human rubbish and pet food

Common Raven sounds: Mostly croaks and harsh calls

Nests of Common Ravens are usually relatively high up on cliffs, trees, bridges, and towers. Their nests are made from long sticks and are large, up to 5 feet across and 2 feet high. The inside of the nest will be lined with mud and softer material, such as grass and wool.

Common Ravens lay up to seven eggs, and they take around three weeks to hatch and about five weeks to fledge.

Fun Fact: Common Ravens in Canada weigh up to 60% more than those in California.

5. Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay

Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays are accidental species in Indiana. They are extremely rare in the state and have not been spotted in a number of years.

Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays are the Blue-Jays of the Southwest with lovely blue and gray coloring. They are light blue and dark gray on the back and light gray underneath. Their tails are long and blue.

They are duller in color than California Scrub-Jays and have only a small necklace, and lack the crests of Blue Jays and Stellar’s Jays.

  • Aphelocoma woodhouseii
  • Length: 11.0-11.8 in (28-30 cm)
  • Weight: 2.5-3.5 oz (70-100 g)

Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays are resident inland in southwest US states and Mexico. You can find them in wooded areas with pinyon-juniper and scrubby areas.

Insects and fruit make up most of the diet of Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays in summer and nuts and seeds in winter.

Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay sounds:

Nests of Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay are fairly simple platforms made of twigs and lined with moss and grass.

Attract Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays to your backyard with sunflower seeds and peanuts.

Fun Fact: Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jays are thieves that steal food from other birds stores, especially Acorn Woodpeckers’ granary tree store of acorns.

6. Black-billed Magpie

black-billed-magpie

Black-billed Magpies are considered accidental species in Indiana, and according to records, they have not been spotted here for a long time.

Black-billed Magpies, usually just called Magpies, are black and white birds that are noisy. They have long tails and blue-green iridescent flashes in the wing and tail. Males are up to 25% heavier than females.

  • Pica hudsonia
  • Length: 17.7-23.6 in (45-60 cm)
  • Weight: 5.1-7.4 oz (145-210 g)
  • Wingspan: 22.1-24.0 in (56-61 cm)

Black-billed Magpies live in northwestern US states and western Canada, and the coast of Alaska. They do not migrate.

You can find them walking on the ground in meadow and grasslands or other open areas feeding on fruit and grain, beetles, and grasshoppers. They have also been known to kill small mammals such as squirrels and voles and raid bird nests for eggs or nestlings and even carrion.

Black-billed Magpie sounds: A series of harsh calls and also a scream.

Nests of Black-billed Magpies are a messy ball-shaped collection of twigs with a neat cup of mud and soft material on the inside. They lay 6 – 7 eggs, and these take around three weeks to hatch and fledge a further 3 – 4 weeks.

You can attract Black-billed Magpies to your backyard with platform and suet feeders with black oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, fruit, suet, millet, and milo.

Fun Fact: A gathering of magpies calling around one of their dead is called a funeral.