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Breeding Range. (Fig. 117). Common in the Turtle Mountains and in the Agassiz Lake Plain Region; locally common on the Northeastern, Southern, and Northwestern Drift Plains; fairly common locally on the Coteau Slope, Little Missouri Slope, and in the northwestern portion of the Missouri Coteau (within Mountrail, Burke, Williams, and Divide Counties); uncommon and local in the remainder of the Missouri Coteau (from South Dakota boundary northwest through Ward County) and on the Missouri Slope.

Breeding Habitat. The Common Crow is a wide-ranging edge species that occupies woodland habitat of various kinds as well as large adjoining areas of open country including agricultural fields, grasslands, and brushland. It is of regular occurrence in the vicinity of natural woodland, including both bottom-land and upland types, and also frequents woodlands created by man, particularly mature shelterbelts and tree claims.

Nesting. Breeding season: Mid-April to late July; peak, late April to late June. Extreme dates of active nests (32 nests): April 18 [1917] in Richland County (Jensen 1918) to July 1 [1915] in Benson County (R. Kellogg). Extreme egg dates (14 nests): April 18 [1917] in Richland County (Jensen 1918) to June 10 [1902] in Nelson County (slightly incubated eggs--Bishop egg collection catalog, Peabody Museum). Extreme nestling dates (7 nests): May 20 [1917] in Richland County (nest with five nearly full grown young--Jensen 1918) to July 1 [1915] in Benson County (R. Kellogg). Dependent young out of the nest were recorded as early as June 13 [1966] in Logan County (RES) and as late as July 27 [1913] in Williams County (V. Bailey).

Information concerning nest sites was recorded for nine nests. Three nests were situated in Rocky Mountain cedar, two nests in bur oak, and one nest each in green ash, American elm, box elder, and peachleaf willow. The height above the ground for six nests ranged from 7 to 25 feet and averaged 13 feet.

Indicated clutch size (10 nests): 4 to 6 eggs; mean, 4.9 eggs.

Figure 117. Breeding Range of Common Crow.