How to Befriend a Wild Crow (& How Long Does It Take?)

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Ornithologist Roger J. Lederer, PhD, shares his tips for attracting crows to your yard

Co-authored by Roger J. Lederer, PhD and Elaine Heredia, BA

Last Updated: December 10, 2025 Fact Checked

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• How to Befriend a Wild Crow
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• How long does it take?
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• Best Foods for Crows
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• Benefits
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• Crow Funeral Behavior
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• Video

|Show more |Show less

Ready to join the hordes of people on CrowTok, the area of TikTok where creators post videos of themselves feeding their neighborhood's wild crows (and sometimes getting gifts in return!)? Whether or not you're looking for social media fame, if you want to cultivate your own murder of crows, you have to befriend them first. Keep reading to learn how to befriend a wild crow, how long it takes to build trust with crows, the benefits of befriending a murder of crows, and more! We'll also share expert tips for attracting crows from ornithologist Roger J. Lederer, PhD, and a fun fact about crows as omens from spiritualist Jennifer McVey, ChT.

Attracting a Crow: Quick Tips

Ornithologist Roger J. Lederer, PhD, says you can attract crows to your yard by leaving out unsalted peanuts and sunflower seeds. He also suggests setting a birdbath in your yard and removing predators like dogs and cats. Other ways to attract a crow are following a feeding schedule and mimicking their calls.

Steps

Section 1 of 5:

How to Befriend a Wild Crow

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1. 
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   Set up a safe space for the crow to roost. Crows like to roost in high places where they can feel safe from predators, socialize with each other, and monitor for danger. Sometimes the top of a fence or the roof of a building will do, but you can also install a hanging platform feeder from your porch or set a platform feeder on a tall post in your yard. This will make your home more enticing and draw crows to you.

   • Do crows recognize individual people? Yes, studies have shown that crows remember faces and can pick people they recognize out of a crowd! This is one of the ways they develop trusting friendships with humans. (It's also how they remember people who wronged them!)

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Roger J. Lederer, PhD, is an ornithologist with over 40 years of experience teaching, studying, and writing about birds. He's also the founder of Ornithology.com, a great resource for information about wild birds.

   Jennifer McVey, ChT, is a spiritualist with over 22 years of experience. She specializes in manifesting, ghost and spirit attachments, hypnotherapy, channeling, and spiritually-based life coaching.
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   Leave out the crow's preferred food. Crows enjoy a variety of different high-protein, low-salt foods. But like humans, individual crows have preferences. Set out a smorgasbord of the best foods for crows to see what the crows in your neighborhood like to eat. Once you determine what they eat, you can serve more of that food to keep them coming back.

   • Put their food in their roost or leave it on the ground. Avoid using a bird feeder, since they prefer to pick up their food.
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   Follow a crow feeding schedule. Crows are intelligent creatures who recognize a pattern when it's repeated long enough. Therefore, if you want to befriend them, consider setting out food on the same day of the week in either the morning or late evening (e.g., every Saturday morning or Monday evening).

   • Avoid creating a food dependency. Some people feed their crows daily, but it's generally recommended to only feed them once or twice a week so they don't become dependent on you as their sole source of food.
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   Set up a birdbath. While you may not want to feed your crows every day, you can attract them in other ways. One strategy, as suggested by Dr. Lederer, is to set up a birdbath in your yard (if you have one) and keep it full of fresh water. Crows like to play in water as well as drink it. As an added bonus, the water will probably entice other birds to visit you, as well!
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   Reduce loud noises and avoid sudden movements. Crows don't respond well to loud noises from people or pets, nor do they like quick, sudden movements. To them, these are signs of a threat to their safety. Anytime you're around crows, sit or stand still at a distance. If you walk, move slowly and steadily. Then you'll be less likely to scare them away. If you have outdoor dogs or cats, put them in the house during the crows' feeding time.

   • When you’re around wildlife, Dr. Lederer says it’s important to be quiet and respectful.
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   Call to the crows. Mimic a crow's call by making a "hoo" sound similar to an owl's hoot. Then add a gurgling noise to it like you're going to spit. If you can't master their call, buy a crow calling device or just speak softly to them. Say "Hello," ask them how they are, compliment them, and see if they caw in response. Here are some examples of things you can say to a crow:

   • "Are you having a good day?"
   • "What beautiful feathers you have!"
   • "That looks like a tasty snack you have there."
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   Let the crow come to you. Be patient and avoid approaching them before they've approached you. When your crow is ready to trust you, they'll make the first move!

   • Reading crow body language: A confident bird will strut up to you or its food with its facial feathers elevated. A more cautious bird might prefer to keep its distance. If it does approach you, it will move slowly with its center of balance away from you in case it needs to fly off in a hurry.
   • Warning: Dr. Lederer doesn’t advise befriending or taming wild crows because this can make the crow used to people or turn them into a pest, leading to people attempting to harm it. Plus, he says, “It’s not legal to tame wild birds.”
     • Dr. Lederer also notes that “it's important for everyone to respect wild birds and not try to tame them in any way. They do just fine without us.”
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Section 2 of 5:

How long does it take to befriend a crow?

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1. 
   It can take weeks, months, or years to befriend a crow. Every crow is different and has their own distinct personality, so it's impossible to say just how long it will take to establish a long-term relationship with one. Location may also be a big factor. For example, if you live in an urban neighborhood, you might gain a wild crow's trust faster because they're already used to being around humans. But if you live outside the city in a rural area, the wild crows there might need a lot more time to get to know you since they're not accustomed to human interaction.

Section 3 of 5:

Best Food to Feed Wild Crows

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1. 
   Crows enjoy low-salt, high-protein foods like nuts, eggs, and meat scraps. They also eat seeds, some grains, and a variety of fruits (especially berries!). Dr. Lederer recommends starting them on peanuts and sunflower seeds. Here are some other safe options to offer them:

   • Blueberries
   • Raspberries
   • Blackberries
   • Watermelon
   • Mangoes
   • Grapes
   • Apples (without the seeds)
   • Pears (without the seeds)
   • Corn
   • Oats
   • Pumpkin seeds
   • Pecans
   • Walnuts
   • Raw or cooked chicken, beef, fish, or pork (unseasoned)
   • Raw or cooked eggs (unseasoned)
   • Dry cat or dog kibble
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Section 4 of 5:

Benefits of Befriending a Crow

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   They eat insects and rodents. Crows are a natural form of pest control! As long as you don't feed them too frequently, they'll take care of any bugs, worms, and even small rodents like mice that are plaguing your yard or your garden.
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   They might bring you gifts. When you feed crows, give them water, and provide them with a safe place to roost, they tend to respond in kind by bringing you gifts. You might receive a piece of food, such as a nut, or your crow might bring you a pebble, a leaf, or a piece of trash. You never know what they may decide to give you, so it's a surprise every time!

   • One person reported that the crow they were feeding brought them hot chicken wings!
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   They might protect you from potential threats. Crows caw in alarm when they detect a threat in their environment. They're also not shy about attacking creatures (or humans) they think are a danger to them. In this way, they alert you and other crows nearby to keep your guard up.

   • Crows and grudges: If you mistreat a crow, they'll remember your face and hold a grudge against you. Then, when they see you, they'll dive-bomb you and peck at you with their beak.
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Section 5 of 5:

Crow Funeral Behavior, Explained

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1. 
   Live crows sometimes gather around dead ones to observe and peck at them. Scientists have dubbed this phenomenon a "crow funeral." But these crows aren't necessarily mourning the passing of their fellow bird. Some experts think they might simply be trying to figure out how and why they died. In some cases, they feed off the carcass, and in others, they try to have sex with it. Whatever the reason, crows seem to be obsessed with the dead in their communities!

   • Crows and omens: According to McVey, crows are arbiters of temporary and unexpected changes. For that reason, they can be perceived as both a good omen and a bad omen. Ultimately, it's up to the person who sees the crow to decide if they want to view it as good or bad luck.

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