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You are here: Home / Outdoors / Hunting & Wild Game / How
to Eat Crow (Literally)
H O W T O E AT C R O W ( L IT E R A L LY )
December 16, 2019 by Ashley Adamant 8 Comments

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Eating crow is one of those old sayings nobody really knows
where it came from, and few people are interested in finding
out. There was a time though, that people did really cook
and eat crow, and believe it or not crow hunting is still
regulated in many states, just like deer hunting and turkey
hunting.

If you’ve followed this site for a while, you know I’m not
squeamish about cooking up the hunt. I’ve got plenty
of squirrel recipes, a groundhog recipe or two, and I even told
y’all a story about the time a friend served us roadkill coyote
at a gathering. Hunt what you eat, eat what you kill, simple
enough.
Then I found myself scrolling through our local fish and
game website, and I came across crow season …

Crow season?!?! Really??? That’s a thing?

Honestly, it had never even occurred to me to actually eat

crow, let alone that there’d actually be a regulated crow
hunting season.

Do people really eat crows?

How do you cook crow?

How much meat is on a crow anyway?

And why on earth can you only hunt then certain days of
the week?!?!

Now I just have to know…

BASICS OF CROW HUNTING

A bit of research and I learned that crow hunting is actually

serious business, largely because crow are actually pretty
difficult to hunt.

Crows are incredibly intelligent, and they can recognize and

remember human faces. Studies also show that they can
convey that dislike to other crows, warning them to stay
away from you or areas that are frequently hunted. Shoot
and miss a crow, and you likely won’t get another chance
with that individual (or any of his friends).

Hunters use blinds and setup crow decoys, using basically

the same strategy as any other bird hunting trip. Still,
they’re not just any type of bird.
It seems like the most devoted crow hunters are trophy
hunters, that setup 200 to 300 yards from their targets.

One article talks about a local crow hunter not far from us
here in Vermont:

“Rodney Elmer says he’s been wearing the same black

baseball cap for more than 20 years. Just above the brim,
nine tiny black talons protrude from the worn cotton. They’re
hunting trophies. ‘These are the back toes of every crow I
shot at more than 300 yards,’ he says.”

Yet another article notes the same sharpshooting prowess in

a hunter in Maryland:

“I was carrying along a superbly accurate Anschutz rifle

loaded with .22 long rifle hollow points in case I spotted a
groundhog during my evening’s walk. The range was well in
excess of 175 yards, but I had a safe backstop and the
temptation of all those feeding crows was more than I could
resist.

Now this was an unusually long shot for a .22, so I held

about three crows high on the largest one I could spot
through the 4x scope and gently squeezed the target quality
trigger.

The rifle cracked as the bullet left the muzzle, and then there
was a long, long pause. And then the unluckiest crow in the
world fell over dead. I paced the shot at 227 yards and was
hooked on crow sniping on the spot.”
 Crows are scavengers, which is one reason they have such a bad reputation as food.

WHY CAN YOU ONLY HUNT CROW CERTAIN DAYS OF

THE WEEK?

I’ve yet to pin down the exact reason for the regulations, but
the general consensus is that it has to do with Mexico and
the Migratory Bird Act.

One version of the story is that US hunters felt that Mexican

hunters were taking too many ducks, and not leaving
enough to hunt (or to breed). As part of a treaty, both US and
Mexico limited their total hunting days, and for some
reason, Mexico insisted that crow hunting also be limited.

Another source has the story slightly different,

“Crow hunting took it on the chin, not for any lack of birds,
but via diplomatic blundering in the late 1960s.

While working on a treaty with Mexico that had virtually

nothing to do with hunting, a Mexican diplomat mentioned
that a certain species of crows was rarely seen in Mexico
anymore. Presto! All crows in America were placed on an
endangered species list.

That caught everyone by surprise and states rushed to

correct the error.

That is why Maryland has this stupid crow season that runs
from Aug. 18 to March 19, but only on Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday and Saturday — unless you spot a crow that is eating
“or about to depredate a crop,” which makes it a fair target
regardless of the day, time or month.”

Due to the Migratory Bird Act, crow hunting is limited to no

more than 124 days a year, and lawmakers maximize the
total length of the season by limiting it to days around the
weekend. Basically, when people are most likely to hunt
anyway.

The season is split, also as part of the migratory bird act,

which stipulates that birds can’t be hunted during their
nesting season:

“The International Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which covers

the American crow and its relatives in the Corvidae family,
allows states to set their own crow-hunting season while
dictating that no season can surpass 124 days per year. The
treaty also requires that crows not be hunted during peak
nesting periods.

A wildlife biologist with Vermont Fish & Wildlife [says that],

“We find [crow] eggs in the nest around April 9 to May 15, and
nestlings from June 3 to June 21.” After last year’s hearing,
the state altered the dates of its crow-hunting seasons to
better reflect that nesting period. They now extend from
January 15 to April 11 and from August 19 to December 19,
Fridays through Mondays only. (source)“

So here in Vermont, there’s a late summer through late fall

crow season, then a break for Christmas (when fewer people
would hunt crow anyway), and a second season from January
until crow nesting season.

CROW HUNTING REGULATIONS

Perhaps you’re tempted to think…who really cares about crow

hunting regulations? Is anyone enforcing this anyway?

Since crows are protected under the Migratory Bird Act, it’s
actually a big deal to hunt them without a hunting license
and out of season.

A local man here in Vermont was charged with hunting crow

without a license, and due to their protections, he could face
up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. To be fair, they
only busted him because he took many different animals
out of season, and actually posted grinning photos of
himself online gutting a pregnant deer out of season. (That,
ironically, comes with a much smaller fine and about 1 year
in jail. Clearly, they’re taking this crow season thing
seriously…)

If you’re curious and want to make sure you’re hunting crow

to the letter of the law (lest you see the same charges
brought against you), here’s a summary of the federal crow
hunting regulations. Remember to check with your state
too!

WHY DO PEOPLE HUNT CROW?

Now the million-dollar question…why do people hunt crow?

Logan from the Backwoodsman’s Institute produced a

video on the basics of crow hunting, and discussed the
reasons people crow hunt:

“Crows are a nuisance animal and they can hurt crops and
trees. There’s really no natural predator to crows, so if no
one hunts them to control the population then there’s going
to be more damage.

That’s why they have a hunting season on crow, and that’s

why people like myself go out and manage the
population. It’s for wildlife conservation. I wouldn’t eat a
crow, they’re a scavenger.”

It seems like his position is the most common. Hunters are

shooting crow, largely at the request of local farmers, to help
reduce their populations and avoid damage to crops.
One farmer notes that crows ravage his corn plantings in the
spring, pulling the seeds right out of the ground as they
germinate. “One year we had to replant 10 acres of corn
[because of crows], and we had to do it three times to get the
stand established,” he recalls.

Clifford notes that he would be open to crow hunting on his

property, but he doesn’t think it would do much good. For
now, he uses a nontoxic chemical called Avipel on his crops;
its bitter taste deters crows.”

In theory, crow hunting would help prevent extra chemical

sprays on corn crops…but in practice, the crows just evade
the hunters and destroy the crop anyway. Crow populations
are actually increasing, and at least here in Vermont, studies
show that there are considerably more crows than 20 years
ago.

Still, others have more practical reasons for hunting

crow….Dinner.

In Lithuania, crow has been part of the traditional diets for

centuries. Hunters host a centuries-old crow feast each
year, where they’re deep-fried for a full hour.

The extra-long cook time completely sterilizes the meat, and

the diners say that the meat is exceptional, with a taste like
quail. What’s more, there’s a local belief that eating crow
will increase a man’s sexual potency, which gives extra
incentive for the tradition.
Honestly, I can’t imagine it’s not part of the traditional
cuisine somewhere else as well, and the internet just
doesn’t know about it. (Please leave any leads in the
comments, I’d love to find more traditional crow recipes.)

CROW RECIPES

While I understand that people may have many different

reasons for hunting crows, if I’m going to even consider it, I
plan on actually eating crow. So that begs the next
question…

How do you cook crow?

Scott Rea, a British Butcher that’s become something of a

youtube celebrity for his traditional recipes, cooked crow in
multiple different ways. He was skeptical when he started,
but in the end, he loved the flavor of the meat and said it
tastes like pigeon. You can actually hear him moaning a bit
with delight as he bites into the crow meat…

Total outdoor programming used a similar process, breading

and frying crow breasts. While they spent the whole video
mocking the idea of eating crow, they actually really enjoyed
the meat.

They compare it to goose or duck meat. It’s like eating duck

meat, but even a bit better because it’s not nearly as greasy
as fatty duck meat.

Besides breaded and fried, crow pie is another common

preparation. There’s a reason for the song, four and twenty
blackbirds baked into a pie…and bird pies were not
uncommon historically. I found an article discussing
the popularity of crow pie suppers in Brittan, at least up
until WWII.

Outdoor life actually has a modern recipe for crow pie,

featuring potatoes, carrots, apples, and peas. Given that
crow meat tastes like goose, duck or quail, I imagine crow
pie is downright delicious.

So what do you think about eating crow? Are you willing to

try it?

MORE UNIQUE HUNTING ARTICLES

Looking for more unique wild game recipes and

tutorials? Read on…

• How to Skin and Gut a Squirrel (in under a minute)

• How to Render Squirrel Fat (For Cookies)
• How to Clean a Groundhog
• How to Cook Deer Heart
• Heart-Shaped Meat Lollipops for Valentines (made
from deer heart)
• Making Fatwax (Animal Fat Salve)
• How to Cook Mice (And Rats)
• Venison Recipes
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COMMENTS

1. Michael
December 22, 2019 at 12:15 am

It’s also thought that the original lyrics for the Twelve
Days of Christmas referred to “blackbirds baked in a
pie” via the fourth day’s entrant, “four colly birds” where
colly means black as coal. It was subsequently changed
to “calling” since most people would not know the
meaning of the word colly other than as a misspelling of
Collie as in Lassie. I’ve also read that the first few days
(aside from the rings) were all about gifts of food –
partridge, doves, hens, blackbirds, geese, and swans.
So enjoy some crow pie as a way to celebrate the
season!
REPLY

o Ashley Adamant
December 22, 2019 at 4:09 pm
 That’s really awesome, I’ll never hear that song the
same way now 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
REPLY

2. Karen Elizabeth
November 14, 2020 at 7:07 pm

My son and I have been reading the “Little House”

books. I forget which book, but one of the books talks
about how the crows were eating their corn and ruining
their crop.
Pa started shooting them, and Ma surprised everyone by
making crow pie. She even quoted the rhyme when
everyone was wondering what type of delicious meat
was in the pie! I wish I could remember which book it’s
in, but it’s definitely there!
REPLY

o Administrator
November 17, 2020 at 3:05 pm

I did a quick search and it looks like it was Little Town

On the Prairie.
REPLY

3. Tim
December 31, 2020 at 4:19 pm

My buddies and I do a drift boat trip, cast and blast

each fall. We often get a chukar and dove or two, and let
the crows fly over (as usual, of course). BUT I’m sure
leaning towards trying them at some point soon. There’s
such a stigma though on eating crow for some reason,
because they’re smart, or just evit looking, who knows…
thanks for the article, it’s still crow season here in CO,
might see if I can get one this weekend!
REPLY

4. Peter
November 27, 2021 at 2:48 pm
 Once my friend recommended me this, eating crow. I
felt disgusted, But after some time on a trip i tried it.
And to my surprise it was very delicious. Haven’t tried
again, but surely i’ll give it a try someday.
REPLY

5. Deanna
May 2, 2022 at 1:47 pm

Ashley I do admire your conviction to only kill what you

will eat, however….anything that needs to be deep fried
for AN HOUR to sterilize the meat is off the menu at our
house. To each their own as they say…..
REPLY

6. Frank Bass
January 8, 2023 at 5:48 pm

Crows and chickens have the same feeding habits. They

eat anything they find, animal or vegetable, alive or
dead, fresh or rotten.
I refer to chickens as “walking buzzards” but, they are
really flightless crows.
REPLY

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