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The books in the main section are listed in order of publication date with the most recent at the top. At the bottom of the page there is a selection of wider ranging books that include sections on crows.

Crows and their allies

Family: Corvidae

Jay
Garrulus glandarius

Magpie
(Black Billed Magpie)
Pica pica

Chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Jackdaw
Corvus monedula

Rook
Corvus frugilegus

Carrion Crow/Hooded Crow
Corvus corone

Raven
Corvus corax

Nutcracker
Nucifraga caryocatactes

Dog Days, Raven Nights

John Marzluff and Colleen Marzluff

2011

"Twenty years ago, fresh out of graduate school and recently married, John and Colleen Marzluff left Arizona for a small cabin in the mountains of western Maine. Their mission: to conduct the first-ever extensive study of the winter ecology of the Common Raven under the tutelage of biologist Bernd Heinrich. Drawing on field notes and personal diaries, they vividly and eloquently chronicle their three-year endeavour to research a mysterious and often misunderstood bird - assembling a gigantic aviary, climbing sentry trees, building bird blinds in the forest, capturing and sustaining 300 ravens as study subjects, and enduring harsh Maine winters in pursuit of their goal. They also share the unique challenges and joys of raising, training, and racing the sled dogs that assisted them in their work. Accompanied by Evon Zerbetz's lovely linocut illustrations, "Dog Days, Raven Nights" is a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the adventures of field science and an insightful exploration of the nature of relationships, both animal and human."

Crow Planet

Lyanda Lynn Haupt

2009

"There are more crows now than ever. Their abundance is both an indicator of ecological imbalance and a generous opportunity to connect with the animal world. Crow Planet reminds us that we do not need to head to faraway places to encounter 'nature'. Rather, even in the suburbs and cities where we live we are surrounded by wild life such as crows, and through observing them we can enhance our appreciation of the world's natural order. Crow Planet richly weaves Haupt's own 'crow stories' as well as scientific and scholarly research and the history and mythology of crows, culminating in a book that is sure to make readers see the world around them in a very different way."

Crow Country

Mark Cocker

2007

"One night Mark Cocker followed the roiling, deafening flock of rooks and jackdaws which regularly passed over his Norfolk home on their way to roost in the Yare valley. From the moment he watched the multitudes blossom as a mysterious dark flower above the night woods, these gloriously commonplace birds were unsheathed entirely from their ordinariness. They became for Cocker a fixation and a way of life. Cocker goes in search of them, journeying from the cavernous, deadened heartland of South England to the hills of Dumfriesshire, experiencing spectacular failures alongside magical successes and epiphanies. Step by step he uncovers the complexities of the birds' inner lives, the unforeseen richness hidden in the raucous crow song he calls 'our landscape made audible'. Crow Country is a prose poem in a long tradition of English pastoral writing. It is also a reminder that 'Crow Country' is not 'ours': it is a landscape which we cohabit with thousands of other species, and these richly complex fellowships cannot be valued too highly."

In the Company of Crows and Ravens

John M. Marzluff

Foreword: Tony Angell

Yale University Press

2005

"In this delightful blend of science, art, and anthropology, biologist Marzluff and illustrator Angell, both fascinated by the corvids, demonstrate why the crows and ravens are worthy of study and respect. Crows and ravens are adaptable, intelligent, and able to learn, remember, and use insight to solve problems. They use unique methods to obtain food, such as pulling up the lines of ice fishermen and rolling walnuts under car wheels. Humans have long noted these large, black, brainy birds, and their images have entered human culture (we "eat crow," open things with a "crowbar") and human mythology (the Norse god Odin was guided by two ravens). The text travels easily from science to folklore to literature, which, along with Angell's lively black-and-white illustrations, recommends this book highly"

Caw of the Wild: Observations from the Secret World of Crows

Barb Kirpluk

2005

"Caw of the Wild is an in-depth exploration into the intriguing and complex behavior of one of North America's most intelligent, but often reviled, birds - the American Crow. As a passionate observer, author Barb Kirpluk shares her extraordinary and fascinating findings, while tracking three urban crow families through their daily existence. By befriending the birds and gaining their trust, Kirpluk shares many observations on subjects, such as: the language of crows; crow habits and social relationships; and the endearing personal relationships that evolved and allowed her to learn from the birds. Kirpluk brings to life the unforgettable characters of these birds, by combining anecdotal tales and recent scientific literature."

Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys

Candace Sherk Savage

2005

"A wide-ranging introduction to over 40 species of the crow family. these fascinating birds. Topics explored include evolution, distribution, diet and food-getting practices (including their ingenious use of tools), social behaviour (including the many crow "languages"), and impact on the human imagination, as reflected in mythology, literature, and popular aphorisms."

Ravensong: A Natural and Fabulous History Of Ravens and Crows

Catharine Feher-Elston

Jeremy P. Tarcher

2005

"Looks at ravens and crows in the contexts of Native American folklore, history, and science. Offers a well-rounded consideration of these enigmatic species, bringing to light their roles as messenger, symbol, harbinger, and totem."

Choughs: Palores

Deborah King

2004

"A celebration in pictures and verse welcoming the legendary Chough back to its homeland. Poems in Cornish & English, with colour paintings."

Crow

Boria Sax

Reaktion Books

2003

184 pages, 27 colour illustrations , 68 other illustraions

"This book considers crows, ravens, magpies and their relatives in myth, literature and life. It ranges from the raven sent out by Noah to the corvid deities of the Eskimo, to Taoist legends, Victorian novels and recent films. It will be of interest to all people who have ever been intrigued, puzzled, annoyed or charmed by these wonderfully intelligent birds." (from text on rear cover of book)

A Murder of Crows

Richard Spilsbury and Louise Spilsbury

Heinemann

2003

A book for older children that focuses on the carrion crow, the hooded crow, and the common (American) crow though it does include other members of the family. Information is mainly provided in a series of question and answer section such as; what is a roost like, how smart are crows, and how do flocks care for their young? The book is illustrated with color photographs of a variety of crows.

Crows!: Strange and Wonderful

Laurence Pringle

2002

"Pringle's informal, fact-filled narrative and Marstall's clear, beautiful pictures show that behind the noise is a complex language (they make at least 25 different sounds) and a great variety of smart birds that show their intelligence in many ways. The information about where crows live, what they eat, how they hunt, mate, nest, raise their young, protect themselves, migrate, and so on through the seasons is presented in an immediate, simple style that brings the reader up close to many birds in forests, fields, and city streets. The details make clear that both author and artist know these birds, and the combination of biology and personal observation will help children see for themselves that there is nothing "common" about the common crow. With the dramatic pictures of the big, glossy black birds, this science book is great for group sharing and for a lively read-aloud."

The Spirit of a King

Les Merton

2001

An illustrated collection of prose and poetry in honour of the Cornish Chough.

Mind Of The Raven: Investigations And Adventures With Wolf-Birds

Bernd Heinrich

2000

"An exploration of the intelligence of the Raven which addresses such questions as instinct vs. intelligence and the way the brain works. The findings are based on field observation, experiment and personal experience."

Biodiversity in Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Species Action Plans - Irish Hare, Chough, Curlew

Environment & Heritage Service

2000

The Raven: A Natural History in Britain and Ireland

Derek Ratcliffe

1997

"This book presents a thorough summary of the current state of knowledge regarding the Raven's natural history, describing its present distribution, habitat requirements, calls, feeding habits, social behavior, and population centers. An emphasis is placed on the long association of the bird with humans, and useful comparisons of the Northern Hemisphere species are made. Includes colour illustrations and maps."

Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays

Candace Sherk Savage

1997

From book jacket: "Examines the lives and behaviours of the highly intelligent members of the crow family, corvids, and includes 61 dramatic images from the world's top nature photographers."

The Magpies: The Ecology and Behaviour of Black-billed and Yellow-billed Magpies

Tim Birkhead

Poyser

1991

This book deals with the Black-billed Magpie, which occurs throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, which is confined to California. The author compares both species, and also the many different races, and reveals that through their remarkably flexible social behaviour magpies are able to exploit a diversity of habitats, from desert to farmland. The book covers many aspects of their lives including relationships, food hoarding behaviour, longevity and survival, nesting, breeding success, and their relationship with man.

The American Crow & Common Raven

Lawrence Kilham

W L Moody, Jr, Natural History Series

Texas A & M University Press

1989

An illustrated study of behaviour, biology and ecology of the American Crow and Common Raven. Based on the author's field observations and incorporating information available in the scientific literature o the time.

Ravens in Winter

Bernd Heinrich

1989

From Publishers Weekly: "In 1984 Heinrich, professor of zoology at the University of Vermont, determined to find out why ravens call to each other when they discover food, a rare example of sharing in the wild. For the next four years he spent winter weekends observing these birds at a remote site in Maine, braving fierce weather, lugging enormous amounts of bait to lure ravens to his study area and sleeping in a cabin where temperatures often plunged below zero at night. The story related here, which is constructed from his field notes, moves slowly; we learn a good deal about scientific methods and a lot about patience. Overall, however, the book is suspenseful and exciting. The author follows a series of clues, some going nowhere, and others finally leading to the solution to this puzzle of animal behavior."

Choughs and Land-use in Europe

E. Bignal

1989

Proceedings of an international workshop on the conservation of the chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, in the EC. 11-14 November 1988.

Crows of the World

Derek Goodwin

Second edition

1987

Annual Variation of Daily Energy Expenditure by the Black-billed Magpie: A Study of Thermal and Behavorial Energetics

John N. Mugaas and James R. King

Cooper Ornithological Society

1981

Contents;

• Introduction
• Population and study area
• Rationale and methods of thermal analysis
• Nonmeteorological Variables
• Meteorological Variables
• Rationale and methods of time-activity and energy budget analysis
• Behavioral Categories
• Methods of Observation
• Energy Equivalents
• Calculation of Daily Energy Expenditure
• Statistical Treatment
• The thermal environment and its influence on the biology of the magpie
• Meteorological Measurements and the Microclimatic Set
• Calculation of Equivalent Blackbody Temperature and Its Variability
• Annual Cycle of Equivalent Blackbody Temperature in Specific Thermal Environments
• Time-activity and energy budgeting in the annual cycle
• Chronology of Events in the Annual Cycle
• Daily Time-Activity Budget
• Metabolic Cost of Activity
• Total Daily Energy Expenditure
• Discussion
• Thermal Tolerance and Geographic Distribution
• The Bout as an Index of Behavior
• Annual Cycle of Energy Expenditure
• Minimizing HTD Through Adaptive Use of Time and Energy
• Comparisons of Time Budgets of Black-billed and Yellow-billed Magpies
• Comparisons of Daily Energy Expenditure for Several Species
• Summary
• Acknowledgments
• Literature cited

Crows, Jays, Ravens and their relatives

Sylvia Bruce Wilmore

1979

Ravens, Crows, Magpies and Jays

Tony Angell

1978

A reference book on the Corvidae with 84 pen and ink drawings by the author.

The Crows: A Study of the Corvids of Europe

Franklin Coombs

1978

Crows of the World

Derek Goodwin

British Museum & Cornell Univ. Press

1976

"The opening part of this book is an introduction to the family and includes sections on biology, ecology, and behaviour. This is followed by individual accounts of 116 species."

Listen to the Crows

Laurence P. Pringle

1976

Discusses the language of the wary, clever crow.

The Cornish Chough

T. O. Darke

1971

"A 44 page study of the Chough in Cornwall with some black and white photographs. Contents include: The last Cornish Chough; The bird itself; Persecution; Other influences; Nature; The return."

Life Histories of North American Jays, Crows and Titmice, Vol. 1

Arthur Cleveland Bent

1947

First volume of the Jays, Crows and Titmice section of what was the definitive study of North American (United States, Canada, Mexico) birds. Information for the species includes description, habitat, range, life history, habits and relation to man.

Life Histories of North American Jays, Crows and Titmice, Vol. 2

Arthur Cleveland Bent

1947

Second volume of the Jays, Crows and Titmice section of what was the definitive study of North American (United States, Canada, Mexico) birds. Information for the species includes description, habitat, range, life history, habits and relation to man.

Black Wings: The Unbeatable Crow

Joseph Wharton Lippincott

J.B. Lippincott

1947

A fictional account of the life of a crow.

Partnerships in Birds: The Ecology of Monogamy

Editor: Jeffrey M. Black

1996

"Some birds mate for life, while others have many partners. Why? In this book, fourteen classic studies of bird behaviour are brought together to compare the different partnership patterns from ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Often there is a battle of the sexes, as individual birds behave in the way that serves their best interests. Introductory and concluding chapters review the latest thinking on this fascinating subject."

Contents: Initial Perspectives; Introduction: pair bonds and partnerships; The battle of the sexes and the origins of monogamy; The model family; Continuous Partnerships; Long-term monogamy in a river specialist - the Blue Duck; Do Barnacle Geese benefit from life-long monogamy?; Mate fidelity in swans; Breeding partnrship in two New World jays; Partnerships in promiscuous Splendid Fairy-wrens; Part-Time Partnerships; Divorce in the European Blackbird; Mate fidelity and divorce in ptarmigan; Causes and consequences of long-term partnerships in Cassin's Auklets; Monogamy in a long-lived seabird: the Short-tailed Shearwaters; Between and within-population variation in mate fidelity in the Great Tit; Monogamy in the Sparrowhawk; Mate fidelity in penguins; Causes and consequences of mate fidelity in Red-billed Gulls; Dispersal, demography, and the persistence of partnerships in Indigo Buntings; Concluding Perspectives; Monogamy and sperm competition in birds; Mate fidelity and divorce in monogamous birds.

Birds Britannica

Mark Cocker and Richard Mabey

Specialist text research: Jonathan Elphick

Chatto & Windus

2005

"... a handsome, easy-to-read, comprehensive cultural study, species by species, of all the birds in Britain. Companion volume to Flora Britannica. Birds Britannica is neither an identification guide nor a behavioural study (though both these subjects enter its field). It covers cultural links; social history; birds as food; ecology; the lore and language of birds; myths, art, literature and music; anecdotes, birdsong and rare facts; modern developments; migration, the seasons and our sense of place. An attempt to describe the interaction of birds and humans, it captures the essence of why birds matter."