It hurts to look at. The physical pain incurred at the time of the injury, the likely chronic pain on the path to recovery, the dubious chance of survival, it all makes me reach for my mouth in horror when I see this bird. To me, the idea of living on in spite of such a grotesque injury seems impossible. Yet here this bird is, surviving, reminding me of what life is capable of.
So now that I had my moment of sadness and awe, let’s get to what everyone wonders when they see a bird like this: Will a crow’s beak grow back if it’s broken and if not, can it survive?
Cracks or complete fractures like this can result from a number of things, though the list could be longer since these accidents are so rarely observed firsthand. Perhaps it was traumatic run in with a window, or perhaps the upper or lower bill got trapped against a fulcrum point and an opposing surface.
As far as the prognosis is concerned, I asked birds experts, wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians and the answer was always an equivocal ‘maybe’. Maybe it would heal back to something resembling normal and maybe it would remain stunted. Maybe it would survive and maybe it wouldn’t. To fully understand the reasoning behind this ambiguity you need to understand how a bird’s beak is actually formed.
Like mammals, birds have two jaws bones that form the upper and lower mandibles. These bones are surrounded by the nerves and blood vessels that support the beak’s functionality and growth. Protecting these layers is the outer lightweight layer of keratin called the rhamphotheca. Like our fingernails, this layer is always growing and being replaced.
Depending on where the fracture occurs, the rhamphotheca can grow back enough to abolish the injury. Unfortunately though, there’s not much room to work with before you hit bone, and the bone cannot be regrown. In these cases the rhampotheca may heal over the exposed bone, but it may not grow back to full size since the template for its shape (the bone) has been stunted. Even if it does grow back, it may not do so correctly, leading to twisty shapes.
A crow skull. You can see that the jaws bones are almost the full length of a crow’s beak. The black outer layer, the rhampotheca, adds only a little (think mm) extra length so there’s not much that can be removed from the tip of the bill without hitting bone.
So what’s the prognosis? Well again, that depends. Even if the bill does not grow back correctly, or at all, some crows can learn to compensate. Fortunately, being a generalist helps their chances considerably. Although some foods may now be out of reach, many crows lean how to scoop, poke, and jab their way to a full stomach everyday. The same cannot be said for many species of bird whose beaks are the cornerstone for consuming a specialized diet.
So while it’s fair to be heartbroken at such an injury, it’s not cause for hopelessness. Many crows will learn to compensate, and go on to remind us of the beautiful stubbornness of life.
corvidresearch.blog 
You should check out June Hunter Images on Facebook:blog. She documents a crow with the same disability. It’s amazing how adaptable they can be!
Thanks, Kaeli. I’ve been deluged with questions about the possibility of George’s beak regrowing – so now I can link people directly to this for a very full and scientific answer. In the meantime, he’s forging on and looking pretty healthy, all things considered.
Of course! Your documentation of George inspired me to highlight this issue. I’m glad your readers can have more information now too.
Reblogged this on The Urban Nature Enthusiast and commented:
Kaeli Swift gives a very full and scientifically sound answer to the questions we’ve all been asking about the chances of George’s beak regrowing. Thanks, Kaeli!
Thanks for this post. I am about to finish reading the novel “Johnny Got his Gun” which makes deformities quite stark. I also volunteer with Lights Out Baltimore, which includes getting injured (mainly window strike) birds to a rehabilitator who has remarkable but not perfect success. We don’t get many corvids but I get the point of the blog.
Now I know a little more beak science than I did an hour ago. Thanks.
A very interesting and informative post. Thanks!
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I have been feeding a crow with a broken beak on a level crossing in North Wales for 2 years. It turned up with its top half of the beak standing straight up in the air. I used to stack the food up for it so he could scoop it up . 50% of the top half fell off. I am convinced that it is growing back as he seems to be eating more normally now. The trouble is, if his beak grows back fully, I will not be able to recognise him. Cheers Ian Parry. Level Crossing Keeper. Tyn Y Morfa North Wales
I have a a crow friend who broke her bottom beak! When my boyfriend and I met her it in Qfc parking lot, it had obviously just happened cuz she was drooling and we were so heartbroken we decided to see what would be good to feed a crow that’s soft and found out wet cat food and so we went inside and bought some and put it out, not expecting her to come over cuz who knows, maybe a human hurt her or something but she was so hungry that she came straight over after we put out some cat food for her and it was so sad seeing her not be able to pick it up and obviously getting frustrated but so hungry she refused to stop trying until she got some.. And that day we decided to feed her every day, morning noon and at like 330pm.. cuz here in Northgate Washington they have group meetings every night at the college before dusk and then they go to bed when they come home, we’ve got their schedule down. Lol. But that’s what we did for a month or so, every day, and it was so awesome, like having our own bird cuz every time we pulled in the parking lot she would race over.. Oh and she had just had babies too and had to feed them every 20 minutes (you could see where she took her food and hear the babies as she fed them, so funny sounding!) so we made sure to see her every day for that month and by the end of it, she knew how to tilt her head sideways and scoop food up, always cat food and or some really small pieces of meat, but she was able to do it and started growing bigger again after the initial week or two where she slimmed down a bit not being able to get worms out of the garden and such.. Then we had a baby so now we don’t go to the store every day like we used to (though we still stop by probably every other day or every three days during really busy weeks still, just to feed her before going home from work or whatever we’re doing) but every time we show up, she still comes and we always have wet cat food in the car, just for her. Finally the other birds accepted her back too as she now has other crows that come and eat too when originally when she came it was only her, it seemed as the other birds avoided her, except for what was probably her man and then the babies when they were ready to come out of the nest and eat with her so she didn’t have to keep flying back and forth. She’s such a good little mommy bird, raising her babies even with a broken bottom beak! We call her Beaksy! Or Miss Beaks! And she still always comes when we pull in the parking lot. I wish I could fix her beak! I saw a 3D printed beak for a crow on YouTube and if she will ever let us touch her, then we’re going to figure out how to get that done for her. 🙂
It’s so sweet and kind of you both to care for Miss Beaks. Thank you hopefully her beak can get fixed.
Thank you for this information. I feed the crows in my neighbourhood twice a day, and today one of them showed up with its top beak broken in half just like the bird in your post. I was so upset, I burst into tears. Tomorrow I am going to go buy moist dog or cat food and mound it up in a pile and hope it can eat some of it. I doubt that I can ever catch it to try to take it to the vet or a wildlife refuge, but I’m hoping to keep it alive and give its poor beak a chance to heal.
I’m so sorry to hear that, Marie