unusual crow

[Jeff Wells]

For the third time in about a week I have seen what I am taking to be an aberrant crow near the West Gardiner travel plaza off of I-295. It is noticeably smaller and shorter-winged (flaps twice as fast as the crows it is with) than the typical American Crows it consorts with and it shows a thin white stripe at the base of the flight feathers so that it looks like it has a thin light stripe down the center of the wing when flying.  A few months ago we caught a quick look at a crow with a similar wing pattern down in Yarmouth as we were driving south on I-295. Wonder if this is the same bird or if multiple birds are showing up like this?

 

Anyone else seen this bird?

 

Jeff Wells

 

 

[Derek and Jeannette Lovitch]

This sounds much more like a crow with damaged wing feathers, such as from a feather mite infestation or certain deficiencies, such as described here: https://morgithology.blogspot.com/2010/12/feather-de-pigmentation-in-carrion-crow.html. It's fairly common in American Crows and birds like this are seen regularly. Shorter flight and tail feathers from damage and abrasion would make it look smaller, force it to flap quicker, and I have seen feather mite damage at the base of flight feathers that makes the wing look just like that (reminiscent of a Pileated Woodpecker).

-Derek

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 Derek and Jeannette Lovitch

 Freeport Wild Bird Supply

 541 Route One, Suite 10

 Freeport, ME 04032

 207-865-6000

 www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com  

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[dana.fox1939]

In observing the crows coming into our staging and roosting, a few times a year when they are sitting out close by, we see crows with different spots of white here and there. Amazing how many have a spot here or there. 

As for the smaller crow, check to make sure it is not a Fish Crow. Once you focus in on it, their smaller size is discernable. Their posture is very different too. The larger American Crow stands tall, has much longer legs and has what I call "pantaloons" feathers around the upper part of the long leg. The Fish Crow has much shorter legs, no pantaloons and it usually walks and stands parallel to the ground.

Louis Bevier has a series of pictures of the two crows that are wonderful examples of how you can see these differences in his series of photos of the two in flight.

Dana

North Andover MA