Crow/Magpie Cross (1 Viewer)

Hello
I am in Northern Idaho and this morning I observed a mother crow feeding her young crow/magpie cross. Take a look at these pictures. The cross breed flies with the crows and there are magpies all hanging out together. I don't know much about birds but does this happen often? I thought these birds hated each other.
By the way this beautiful cross breed is very interactive with me and very curious.

 

[Tiraya]

Aside from the white, there's nothing about this bird that suggests magpie. A cross would show a longer tail, sleeker body, and other intermediate features between the two parents. And crows are known to, on rare occasions, have black pigment deficiency that cause white feathering. So this is most likely a regular crow that looks odd.

 

[Solar Wind]

Hello Tiraya,

Thank you for replying. I have see a lot of pigment deficiencies in many species ,fish, reptiles, mammals I don't remember seeing anything as symmetrical and beautiful as this. The pigment deficiencies I have seen are random and ugly. This seems more genetic.
Another strange thing is that the crows and magpies here commingle, sharing trees and eating together. Strange things happen... I will keep an eye out... if there are more next year that will be interesting.

 

[Stonefaction]

Our Carrion Crows over here share the same look as your bird. Although it isn't common, I will often see at least 1 crow marked like that when I'm out and about birding in certain areas of the city - though I don't have many photos to hand to illustrate the point. I found this blog post, which the comments seem to match my observations of it being not uncommon in urban areas. Crow curiosities: what causes white feathers?

 

[Tiraya]

Plumage mutations can be symmetrical. They are not always, but they can be.