www abdopublishing com Published by Abdo Publishing a division of ABDO PO Box 398166 Minneapolis Minnesota 55439 Copyright 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher Checkerboard Library is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 102014 012015 Cover Photos iStockphoto Science Source Interior Photos Alamy pp 9 11 19 23 Glow Images pp 1 15 27 29 JOEL SARTORE National Geographic Creative p 5 ROBBIE GEORGE National Geographic Creative p 25 Science Source pp 13 16 17 21 23 26 Series Coordinator Megan M Gunderson Editors Rochelle Baltzer Bridget O’Brien Art Direction Neil Klinepier Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Petrie Kristin 1970 author American crows Kristin Petrie pages cm Backyard animals Audience Ages 8-12 Includes index ISBN 978-1-62403-658-3 1 Corvus brachyrhynchos Juvenile literature 2 Crows Juvenile literature I Title QL696 P2367P48 2015 598 8’64 dc23 2014024347
TAble of conTenTs The Bird Family 4 Crows 6 Habitat 8 Bill to Tail 10 Similar Species 12 Smart Social 14 Communication 18 Nesting 20 Baby Crows 22 Diet 24 Enemies Challenges 26 Crows Humans 28 Glossary 30 Websites 31 Index 32
The bird fAmily Birds Birds are everywhere They come in many shapes and sizes Some are beautiful while others are considered downright ugly They nest in trees and on the ground They have webbed feet or feature sharp talons Some birds waddle clumsily rarely leaving the ground Others fly with speed and grace Despite their many differences all birds belong to the class Aves Within this group over half of all birds are part of the scientific order Passeriformes Members of this large order are songbirds These land birds have unwebbed toes for perching The order Passeriformes is made up of numerous bird families The family Corvidae for example includes more than 100 types of birds Jays magpies ravens rooks coughs nutcrackers and crows are all corvids One species from the family Corvidae is very widespread Can you guess what it is It is the American crow Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Passeriformes Family Corvidae Genus Corvus Species brachyrhynchos SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
5 The American crow is just one of the more than 10,000 species in the class Aves 5
