Last Updated on: June 1, 2026
Until recently, I never thought I’d be interested in attracting crows to my backyard. That was until I saw a few in the wild on a recent trip, where I fell in love with their quirky idiosyncrasies and highly intelligent behavior. Crows have this unmistakable call that you never confuse with that of any other bird and their jet black bodies are so striking against a blue sky as they pass you on a clear day.
In addition to being beautiful to look at, crows are a foraging species and can be a great way to assist in pest control. We think these are good enough reasons to encourage regular visits throughout the year, so if you feel the same, here are a few simple ways to attract more crows to your backyard.
We’ll go through a number of different tips that address questions like:
- Will crows bring you gifts?
- What attracts crows?
- Are crows attracted to colors?
What Crow Am I Seeing?
But first, a little more about crows as a species. There are a number of different crow varieties that are native to North America. It’s helpful to know which you might be seeing in order to select a method that will attract the species local to your area.
1. American Crow
American crows are perhaps the most common you’ll come across. You’ll find them pretty much anywhere in North America, with the exception of the southwestern desert. Their breeding range is further north, in parts of Canada, Alaska, and other northern areas, while their wintering grounds are south in parts of Texas, California, Utah, and Nevada. Crows build their nests near tree trunks in evergreen or deciduous forests, where their young are born, hatched and will live for the early months of their lives.
You’ll see American crows in towns, fields, and by the roadside. It’s almost like it lives everywhere (even on beaches) but seemingly not in backyards. Drawing it to your home can help in a number of ways. As omnivorous animals, they can help to remove carrion and catch pests such as mice. On the flip side, you run the risk of impacting the presence of other smaller bird species that have taken refuge in your yard; crows will raid the nests of other birds like robins or jays for their eggs.
2. Fish Crow
The fish crow is not quite as common as the American crow, and largely inhabits the southeastern edge of North America, from Louisiana to Delaware where wetlands and marshes are more prevalent. If you’re luck enough to find yourself living in one of these states, it can be quite easy to attract them to your backyard any time of the year, as there are resident populations there year-round.
Fish crows are smaller than standard American crows, growing up to just under 16 inches in length. Despite the size difference, they have a remarkably similar plumage as American crows. The best way to differentiate fish crows from other kinds is by their size, or by listening to their calls. Fish crows make a more nasally sounding call than their common counterparts. They also tend to eat more marine prey than other crows since they live along marshes, lakes, and beaches.
3. Common Raven
While their name indicates a significant difference, ravens are actually classified in the same genus as crows. Ravens are larger than American crows, and can grow to over 27 inches long. They also tend to weigh more, which is something to consider if these are the species you’re attracting to your yard – that birdfeeder or fence might need a bit of reinforcement to support the additional weight.
Ravens have a subtly different plumage to crows, however it takes some quite careful studying to recognise these. Ravens have a wedge-shaped tail and pointed feather tails, while crows have a fan-shaped tail with more squared off feather ends. Raven bills are thick, and suited to consuming a range of foods, from carrion to mice and bird eggs.
Ravens are resident birds in North America, while a crow has migratory habits and fly south to warmer climates for the winter. Since they are present all year round, these are the species you’re probably most likely to attract to your yard.
The Cornell Lab’s site All About Birds has a great online resource about crows and ravens, and there is even a video to help you distinguish them by their calls. Check it out here.
Can Crows Roost In Your Yard?
One of the first factors to consider when attracting crows to your yard is the size of your property and how easy it is for these avians to roost. Crows tend to like higher places to roost, including large trees, telephone wires, posts and fences, so if you have these around, it will be easier to attract them. If you don’t have these elevated spaces, you could consider setting up crossbars alongside your house, fence line or existing trees to provide an ideal habitat for them to roost.
Should You Be Worried When Crows Invade Your Yard?
You might be wondering whether you’ll get to a point where it feels like crows are talking over your backyard. It’s worth noting that crows and ravens are predatory birds that will attack smaller species like robins, blue jays, and sparrows. They may also frighten nesting birds when they roost on your property and have been known to pick off bird eggs from competing nests in their territory.
Despite these concerns, having crows around can be advantageous; as scavengers, they can take care of food waste for you, and can also keep your property clear of rodents and other pests.
They can be difficult to get rid of and can definitely have an impact on the other species in your yard, however there are benefits and they are not overly destructive so it’s ultimately up to you as to whether you’re willing to invite them into your space.
Tips for Attracting Crows to Your Yard
1. Offer Bird Food
Having the right food on hand is a great place to start. Crow species will eat a wide range of foods and you can use the diversity in their diet to your advantage. Try offering larger, eye-catching bird food like shelled peanuts that prospective crows will be able to spot from a distance. You could place them in a platform feeder, or scatter them on the ground to encourage the birds to fly down and spend some time on the floor.
When they start to get more comfortable in your space, you might want to offer them something more substantial. Other kinds of nuts, as well as things like pasta, eggs, and pet food will be willingly scoffed down by your new crow friends. You could also consider introducing a more regular feeding routine; crows are such intelligent birds that they will quickly pick up on the pattern and start to expect their food at the same time each day.
2. Tone The Noise Down
This goes for plenty of other birds as well, but keeping your home quiet and tranquil will tend to attract crows and ravens, who prefer still spaces in order to rest and roost. We recommend removing things like bells and other hanging items that make a jangling sound, oiling your door and window hinges, and avoiding using power tools to keep your yard quiet. It’s worth keeping an eye on your daily habits over a few weeks to see how different sounds affect the bird populations in your area, and making changes where you can to make them more comfortable.
This has the added benefit for you of making it easier and more pleasant to hear the variety of birdsongs that will now fill your yard.
3. Play Crow Calls
Birds use calls all the time for different communication needs. They may make a distress call to alert the rest of their flock about a predator, or try to impress a prospective mate with their beautiful song. One easy way of attracting more crows to your yard once you’ve quietened things down is to play some crow calls from a speaker. You might need to carefully select these so that you’re not playing warning signals and scaring off potential new friends!
4. Install A Bird Bath
Water is an essential feature in the life of birds, and can be really important to introduce when you’re trying to attract crows to your yard. Crows are highly social birds and much of these interactions occur around water. They do everything there — from drinking to bathing to cooling off during summer. Introducing a birdbath to your yard can be a great way of inviting crows and seeing them interact with each other in a playful way. Just make sure the bath is big enough to accommodate the larger size of the birds – crows can grow to over 20 inches in length.
5. Use A Fake Crow
Mounting fake crows in your yard can be another way of inviting real ones, as it can indicate to them that your yard is already crow-friendly. You might consider placing a fake crow on a tree branch, near a birdbath or along your fence – any place where real crows may want to perch so that you can entice them to join the “flock”.
Because of their social nature, they will follow the confident leader in selecting their roosting ground. Real crows will feel less threatened and timid about your space, and although they are highly intelligent, they will assume the crow decoys have found a suitable roosting ground that they can join or take over. If possible, try to set up the decoy so that it moves slightly to give it more of a sense of life and trick the real crows into thinking it’s alive.
Yes, murder means a group of crows. But, you’d need at least one moving fake crow because if they’re all stationary, the real crows won’t buy your idea.
6. Display Shiny Objects
Crows like shiny objects and often carry them to their nests. Since shiny objects may drive away birds that dislike these objects, you can attract crow species with this when all other strategies fail. Pieces of foil and cellophane are good options as you don’t want to encourage theft of anything valuable like jewellery.
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Conclusion
Crows are beautiful creatures and there are so many simple ways of attracting them to your backyard. Remember, crows will eat just about anything from cat food to wild animals. Start slowly and try to build up a bit of a relationship with them so they become more confident about sharing your space with you. Once they become familiar with your yard, a murder will search for food scraps in your trash if you don’t have a feeder ready with shelled peanuts, so keep that routine regular.