How Long Do Crows Live?

How long do crows live? That’s one of the many questions people ask about these familiar all-black birds. Here’s what you’ll want to know about the lifespan of crows and what affects it.

How Long Do Crows Live In The Wild?

In the wild American crows have a lifespan of around 7-8 years. However, according to research on banded American crows, they can sometimes reach 18 years or more. That being said, crows (like many other bird species) have a very high mortality rate when they’re young. It’s estimated that 50-60% of all crows die within their first year of life.

But the young crows that survive this critical time have a good chance of reaching adulthood and also living for a long time. There is no accepted way to determine the exact age of wild crows. And estimating their age can be a challenge. The primary method used for estimating a crow’s lifespan in the wild is by banding them.

Banding is also called ringing. And it involves catching wild crows, attaching a numbered band around their leg, and releasing them. Later on, at some point in their lives, they may be recaptured. However, there is no guarantee that researchers will ever be able to catch individual crows again.

If they are caught, the researchers can look up their band number to find out how much time has passed since the crow was originally fitted with the band. This gives them a “minimum age,” for the crow. It is not an exact age since there is no way to know precisely how old the crow was when it was first banded.

Factors Affecting Crow Lifespan In The Wild 

Several factors can affect how long a crow lives in the wild, including the following.

Predators

While crows are wary birds, they do have many predators. There are quite a few animals that prey on adult crows, baby birds, and crow eggs. These include birds of prey such as owls, hawks, and eagles. Raccoons, snakes, and cats are threats to crows too, both on the ground and sometimes in the trees.

Humans

Crow populations are often controlled by legal hunting and trapping. And because they are unfortunately viewed as pests, they are sometimes illegally killed as well. In addition, they may be accidentally killed by humans. For example, vehicles sometimes accidentally strike crows when the birds are feeding on roadkill.

Disease

Exposure to diseases can also affect a crow’s life expectancy. They can contract various avian diseases. And they are well-known for being highly susceptible to the West Nile virus. The virus is nearly 100% fatal for infected crows. This is substantially higher than most other bird species.

Scarcity Of Food

Sometimes due to the changing of the seasons, a high number of competing crows nearby, the use of pesticides, or a range of other reasons food can be scarce. And not getting the nutrients they need can negatively impact their health and possibly how long they live.

Why Do Crows Live So Long? 

While there are many threats to crows in the wild, there are also several factors that are believed to help crows live relatively long lives. That is of course if they can survive. Crows live in family groups. And in those groups, they work together to find food, feed the young, and protect their territory from other crows and predators. By combining their efforts the crows increase the chances of the entire group’s survival.

Young crows typically stay with their family group for several years until they reach sexual maturity. That’s much longer than most birds. But it gives them the time they need to learn vital survival skills before they leave the group, find a mate, and defend their own territory.

A huge advantage crows have when it comes to surviving is that they have the traits of being incredibly intelligent and at the same time highly adaptable. Their cognitive abilities are actually believed to be equivalent to that of apes. And they can adjust and adapt to changing conditions and circumstances easily.

And unlike many birds that have more specialized diets, American crows are opportunistic omnivores. They can (and do) eat an enormous array of foods from insects to dead animals or even human trash. And this allows crows to take advantage of almost any food source they come across.

How Long Do Crows Live As Pets? 

A Crow’s life expectancy in captivity is much longer than a wild crow’s. Crows kept in captivity or as pets are known to live up to 20 years old or more. There are many claims of captive crows living even longer. And while some of these may be true, they are usually difficult to prove since in most cases there isn’t any official documentation proving when the crow hatched.

Captive crows typically have many benefits that wild crows don’t. And of course, these help them to live much longer lives. For example, unlike in the wild they live in controlled environments where they often have access to shelter, are protected from temperature extremes and severe weather conditions, and aren’t usually exposed to harmful substances.

Also, captive crows are protected from their natural predators and humans. And many crows even have access to veterinary care and are treated for any injuries or diseases that could mean death in the wild.