Northern Extension of Crow Habitat/Range

Observation by Jay Stange:

Over the past decade, I've noticed the range of crow habitat has increased to include Prince William Sound and areas of Southcentral Alaska which typically did not include them. There is a nesting pair of crows in Anchorage.

Comments from LEO Editors:

Northwest Crows (Corvus caurinus) are distinguished by their species range, which is limited to the Pacific Northwest coast. There are possible populations of the Northwest Crow living on the southern side of the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island, indicated by question marks above these areas on the range map pictured below. According to E-Bird, there have been sightings of the Northwestern Crow along the Kenai peninsula between 2014 and 2019.

The Northwestern Crow has many similar features to the American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), which is common across the contiguous U.S. The Northwestern Crow is smaller in size, with a wingspan of 30.3 inches compared to 33.5-39.4 inches of the American Crow. In Alaska, the Northwest Crow shares the same coloration as the common raven although ravens are much larger, with a wingspan if 45-7-46.5 inches. Crows can also be distinguished from ravens by a rounded tail, compared to the raven's pointed one. Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology Northwestern Crow, American Crow and Common Raven Species Profiles.