Date: 3/1/26 7:51 am From: Jamie Chavez via groups.io <almiyi...> Subject: [sbcobirding] Watching Crows and Bird Atlasing
One of the interesting things about participating in the [CA Bird Atlas](https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/home) is paying closer attention to bird activity and behavior than I might otherwise do in an attempt to record breeding activity. Yesterday, I watched an American Crow break apart some food item in a tall tree, and it was soon joined by a second crow that was actively begging, calling incessantly with wings fluttering, waiting for its share. After a time the first crow would feed the second crow. I thought, "Wow, this seems so early in the season for a fledged crow out of the nest to be following an adult around." I looked hard for any signs that the crow was a fledgling, but I couldn't make out a fleshy gape. Reading about crows, it appears that 18 days is about the time from egg laying to fledging. One of the key points I read in the American Crow life history at the Birds of the World website is: "Females begged from and were fed by males increasingly often and increasingly from near and in nests ([131](https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/amecro/cur/references#REF213148), C. Caffrey, unpublished data); females varied greatly in begging behavior (frequency and intensity; C. Caffrey, unpublished data)." What looked like begging behavior from a fledgling was more likely female begging and pair-bonding behavior at the start of nesting. This is also a cautionary note to learn a bit more about some bird species and their habits, rather than miscode something on your Bird Atlas checklist based on what looks like might be taking place.
