American Crow vs Great Tit
Corvus brachyrhynchos compared with Parus major
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | American Crow | Great Tit |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Corvus brachyrhynchos | Parus major |
| Order | Passeriformes | Passeriformes |
| Family | Corvidae | Paridae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | 45.0 cm (17.7 in) | 14.0 cm (5.5 in) |
| Wingspan | 99.0 cm (39.0 in) | 24.0 cm (9.4 in) |
| Weight | 450.0 g (15.87 oz) | 18.0 g (0.63 oz) |
| Diet | Highly omnivorous — insects, earthworms, seeds, fruit, eggs, nestlings, carrion, and human food waste. Among … | Insects and spiders in summer, seeds and nuts in winter. A frequent and dominant visitor … |
| Clutch Size | 3-7 | 3-18 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
American Crow
Extremely adaptable — found in farmland, open woodland, suburban neighborhoods, parking lots, and urban parks.
Great Tit
Deciduous and mixed woodland, parks, gardens, and hedgerows. Readily uses nest boxes. Highly adaptable to human environments.
Song & Call Comparison
American Crow
Classic 'caw-caw-caw' repeated in series. Family groups use distinct dialects. Also gives rattling, knocking, and a short 'cah' flight call. Highly social and vocal.
Great Tit
A repetitive, teacher-teacher 'tee-cher, tee-cher, tee-cher'. Also gives ringing 'pink-pink' alarm. Highly versatile singer; over 40 song variants recorded from a single male.
Geographic Range & Migration
American Crow
North America from southern Canada through the United States to northern Mexico.
Great Tit
Widespread across Europe and Asia from Britain to Japan, and south to North Africa and Southeast Asia.
Conservation Status
American Crow
Great Tit
How to Tell Them Apart
American Crow
All black with a slight glossy sheen. Squared-off tail and smooth throat distinguish it from the common raven.
Straight, sturdy black bill smaller than a raven's
Great Tit
Blue-black head with white cheeks. Olive-green back, yellow underparts with a broad black central stripe. White wing bar and blue-grey tail.
Short, stout, dark bill
About These Birds
American Crow
The American crow is one of North America's most familiar and intelligent birds. Research has shown they can recognize individual human faces and communicate perceived threats to other crows. They form large winter roosts of up to hundreds of thousands of individuals in some cities.
Great Tit
The great tit is the largest European tit and one of the most studied wild birds in the world. Research at Wytham Woods in Oxford has monitored great tit populations since the 1940s, contributing enormously to ecology and evolution. These innovative birds famously learned to open milk bottle tops in 20th-century Britain.