Corvus ossifragus
Silhouette: Peileppe · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The fish crow (Corvus ossifragus) is a species of crow associated with wetland habitats in the eastern and southeastern United States. The fish crow was given its binomial name by the Scottish ornithologist Alexander Wilson in 1812, in the fifth volume of his American Ornithology. The binomial is from Latin; Corvus means "raven", while ossifragus means "bone-breaker". It is derived from os or ossis, meaning "bone", and frangere, meaning "to break". The English-language common name fish crow also derives from Wilson, who ascribed the name to the crow's aquatic diet, as described to him by local fishermen. He distinguished the fish crow from John Bartram's great seaside crow by the former's diminutive size when compared to the American crow.
The fish crow's taxonomic relation to other species of the Corvus genus is still poorly understood, but DNA sequencing indicates that it is most closely related to the Hispaniolan palm crow (C. palmarum) and the Jamaican crow (C. jamaicensis), with the three species forming a Nearctic clade. The Sinaloa crow (C. sinaloae) and Tamaulipas crow (C. imparatus) bear morphological similarities to and were once considered conspecific... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ähtäri Zoo | 🇫🇮 Finland |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Fish Crow sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 4,476 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 279 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March to June
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Fish Crow in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against about 20% in November, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fish Crow sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Fish Crow sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Congaree National Park (United States, about 10%) and Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fish Crow is recorded against all the birds logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (4,476 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
