There are 39 Black Birds, or Crows, to find throughout NieR Reincarnation‘s nine available chapters as of this writing. Collecting them will give you various rewards to upgrade your characters and weapons. The guide below outlines all of their locations.
Are Black Birds missable? Technically, no. If you miss a crow your first time through a mission, you can replay the mission from the main menu and use this guide to collect it.
How to Replay Quests
To replay quests, go to the main menu by tapping the Mama icon in the bottom right of the screen. Click the “Quests” icon to the left of “Exploration” at the bottom of the screen.
Then click “Main Quests.” The chapters you’ve completed will be on the left. Click the banner for the chapter you want to replay. The quests for that chapter will appear on the right. Click the quest you want to replay.
The Deck screen will appear. Uncheck the “Battle Only” at the bottom of the screen (just above and left of “Cancel”). If you don’t uncheck this, you’ll only play the battle for the quest and won’t be able to search for the Black Birds. Once you uncheck that box once, it’s unchecked for all other quests.
Click “Start,” and you’ll at the beginning of the selected mission.
It’s worth noting NieR Reincarnation is essentially linear. That means you can’t travel backward from a checkpoint, so make sure to choose the checkpoint before the crow you need to pick up.
You can see how many Crows you’ve collected in a chapter by choosing a chapter and looking in the bottom right corner of the screen. Lastly, replaying quests uses 5 Stamina, though that shouldn’t ever be an issue.
Chapter 1
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x3
After you complete your first battle at the first Dark Scarecrow, you’ll go through a door and a large, narrow corridor. You’ll emerge into a large cathedral with three sets of stairs.
At the top, turn right to find the Black Bird perched at the edge of a bridge.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: Premium Summon Ticket
After the second Dark Scarecrow, you’ll go through a door and into a large hexagonal courtyard. You’ll then go up a large spiral staircase. Mama will begin telling you about The Cage.
The Black Bird is on the third column.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: XL Weapon Enhancement x3
After the third Dark Scarecrow, you’ll go through a door and emerge outside. Go up the first set of stairs, and then halfway up the second. Look to the right and the column underneath the third set of stairs.
The Crow is on the second ledge from the column’s top.
Chapter 2
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: Small Stamina Recovery x4
At the beginning of the chapter, take the stairs right (the stairs Mama says are “the right ones”). At the bottom, start left. Look up to the ruined stairs to the right.
The Crow is hard to see, but it’s perched near the bottom of the ruined stairs.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x4
Complete the two Black Barrier fights, and go through a large door. Go up the large staircase to the left. Go right at the top, then go up two more staircases.
At the top of the third set of stairs, look left. The Bird is at the edge of the platform you’re standing on, with an archway behind it in the distance.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: XL Weapon Enhancement x4
After the second Dark Scarecrow here, you’ll come to a section that puts you in a top-down view. After you take your first left, the top platform just comes into view. Stop and look for the Black Bird just as the top platform begins to curve right.
Black Bird 4
- Rewards: Silver Coin x3
As you approach the last Dark Scarecrow for Chapter 2, look to the left of the black light coming up from the Scarecrow. The Bird is perched up on the outer edge of the tower on the left.
Chapter 3
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: Emerald x2
This one is behind you at the beginning of the chapter. After getting your first Companion, turn directly around to find it perched on the edge of the platform.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x4
After you stop the sand waterfall with the switch, go up the stairs and find the Black Bird sitting on the block at the top of the stairs.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x4
Right before the third Dark Scarecrow, you’ll see this Black Bird perched on the stone to the left of the path, just before entering the large open area.
Black Bird 4
- Rewards: XL Weapon Enhancement x5
Directly after the 3-3 Scarecrow battle, you’ll find an Old Man. The Crow is perched alongside the path, behind the Old Man.
Chapter 4
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: Aquamarine x1
This Crow is to the left of the bridge at the very beginning of the chapter. It’s under the first archway on the left.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x5
After Mama helps you open the large gate, you’ll come to a collapsed bridge with a Dark Scarecrow on the other side. The Crow is on the broken bridge section to the left.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: XL Weapon Enhancement x5
This one is directly across from the Dark Scarecrow at the top of the musical spiral staircase. You can collect it as soon as the view changes to a top-down perspective.
Black Bird 4
- Rewards: Small Stamina Recovery x10
As you approach the last Dark Scarecrow, the camera will shift to a top-down perspective. The Crow is perched on top of the wall to the left.
Chapter 5
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: Explorer’s Ticket
After going through the first large door, you’ll ascend a staircase on the left. At the top, you’ll come to a hexagonal platform. The Bird is to the left, at the bottom of the small connecting bridge in front of you.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x6
After destroying the second Black Barrier, you’ll come to a set of stairs going up and left. In the distance, you’ll see a column with a star-like platform. The Bird is perched on the fourth point from the left.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: Medium Stamina Recovery x1
After the last Scarecrow, continue along the path and ascend the staircase. The camera will shift to an overhead viewpoint. At the top, look at the column on the left to find the Crow sitting on a ledge.
Black Bird 4
- Rewards: XL Weapon Enhancement x6
After destroying a Black Barrier and going up a curved set of stairs, you’ll come to a ramp leading down. Take it down and look for the Crow on the last pillar on the left.
Chapter 6
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: Inscriptions in Stone Summon Ticket x5
From the beginning of the chapter, go straight ahead across the bridge. Near the end, you’ll see a pile of rubble in the middle of the bridge. The Crow is in the middle of the rubble.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x6
After you teleport far across the map, go right and up a winding staircase. The Crow is near the top of the third pillar along the staircase. Don’t exit the staircase at the top before getting the Bird; you can’t go back down the stairs.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x6
After clearing the Black Barrier off of the elevator switch for the second time, you’ll cross a bridge. Go under the first archway, and the path will go to the right. There is a pile of rubble to the left before the path goes right. The Crow is on a ledge beneath the rubble.
Black Bird 4
- Rewards: XL Weapon Enhancement x6
Like 6-3, you’ll need to clear two Black Barriers off of the elevator switch to reach the top. When you reach the top, you’ll see a bridge in front of you that goes up at the end. The Black Bird is on the right side of the bridge before it ascends at the end.
Chapter 7
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: Bronze Coin x17
After taking the elevator all the way down, you’ll see a short bridge and a Dark Scarecrow in front of you. Stop in the middle of the bridge, then look left and down to find the Black Bird perched on stone.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x6
After you get to the bottom of the elevator, you’ll go through a door and down some stairs. The path will curve out to the left a bit, around a column on the right. There is a tree just behind the column and just before the bridge. The Crow is on the tree.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: Premium Summon Ticket
Take the elevator down to the bottom and follow the path to a teleporter. Use the teleporter, and turn right after you warp to the far side. The bird is on a ledge to the right of the teleporter.
Black Bird 4
- Rewards: XL Weapon enhancement x7
After going through the first door, you’ll enter a circular courtyard with a bridge on the other side. Cross the bridge and stop at the archway. The bird is perched above the archway.
Chapter 8
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: XL Weapon Enhancement x7
Load into the chapter, and turn around. Go left to the edge of the platform. You’ll see the Crow perched on an outcropping just below the platform you’re standing on.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x7
As you turn onto the bridge that leads to the second Dark Scarecrow of the chapter (after the characters talk about soup), you’ll see a tree to the right side. The Bird is perched on a branch, close to the trunk.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x7
After the second Black Barrier fight, the camera will shift to a top-down perspective. You’ll come to a narrow staircase bridge leading slightly downward, spanning a grey abyss. Near the beginning of the bridge, look to the right to see the Bird perched on the ledge of a column.
Black Bird 4
- Rewards: Gold Coin x2
After the first Black Barrier fight, look to the left of the screen into the distance. You’ll see two octagonal platforms. The platform closest to you has three ledges (including the top platform). The Bird is perched on the bottom ledge.
Chapter 9
Black Bird 1
- Rewards: Silver Coin x9
After you pull the lever and go through the gate, go down the stairs and stop at the bottom. Look at the pillar on the right to find the Bird sitting on the ledge on the left side.
Black Bird 2
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x8
After the two Black Barrier fights, you’ll descend a spiral staircase. Look to the left of the staircase when you reach the bottom to find this Black Bird perched just on the edge of the platform.
Black Bird 3
- Rewards: Light of Memory
As you approach the next Dark Scarecrow, you’ll enter an area with sand “waterfalls,” a bridge in front of you, and broken bridges on the left and right sides. Look to the broken bridge on the right; the Bird is perched on the first pillar.
Black Bird 4
- Rewards: XL Character Enhancement x8
After the last Dark Scarecrow, continue through the door and follow the path. You’ll go through some Barrier fights and eventually turn right, with the camera shifting to a side-scrolling perspective.
There is a large pillar in the background, with the next Dark Scarecrow further back. The Bird is on the lowest ledge of the pillar.
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And those are the locations for all of the Black Birds, or Crows, in Nier Reincarnation so far. If you found this guide useful, consider checking out our other tips articles for Memoirs and Ascending characters and weapons.
