White-feathered American Crow (1 Viewer)

[Barbara Blanchard]

White Feathered Black American Crow (Picture)

I spotted a white-feathered American Crow yesterday, hopped out of the car and clicked one shot before he flew off with his all-black cohorts. It appears that several of his primary feathers are pure white. Can anyone tell me the proper adjective for such a bird? Is it "melanistic" or "partial albino" or...?

(I hope the photo is attached - I'm new at this.)

Bert Kersey, Fallbrook, Southern California

(I hope my photo is attached, I'm new at t his as well.)
I spotted a White feathered American Crow hanging around my house in Boxborough, Massachusetts for several months in the spring of 2002, as luck would have it I managed to snap a couple of photos of him which I've attached. He was a healthy, glossy young looking crow who obviously lived in the neighborhood.

Barb Blanchard, Bucksport, Maine[/FONT]

 

[Tom Dunne]

I think it's just one stressed out Crow!

Heck, take a look at a bunch of 40-something managers. We start getting white streaks from all of the un-realistic schedules.

 

[Gentoo]

see what i mean?....

Even though I post a heads-up that it's a thorny issue we still get people from both sides insiting they're correct!!!.....

guys,
lets face it, there is no right answer,
both versions of the terminology are in use
that's all anyone can really say...

Once apon a time there was an answer. That is until people started using the term "partial albino" and everyone else simply accepted it as if it were real. Over they years the truth got lost, never to be seen again.

 

[tippitytwitchit]

Once apon a time there was an answer. That is until people started using the term "partial albino" and everyone else simply accepted it as if it were real. Over they years the truth got lost, never to be seen again.

I have been doing alot of Googling today, and I have an answer. The white streaks area caused by malnutrition. This is why they are seen more in cities than in the wild. And I have yet to see one, so far, the only place i ever saw one was pieces on eBay. NOT what I wanted. :storm:

 

[Dranzer]

That is one beautiful American Crow amd a lovely shot of him too, I have yet to see an albino bird

 

[OwlTalon]

Everyone here seems to think their right! Personally, I think he just dyed them himself
Beautiful shot Mac Faxer! Albino / partial albino / leucistic / malnourished / stressed /whatever and melanistic animals (birds or not) are always a real treat. I have seen an all-white Red-tail with only black eyes seperating it from being a true albino, and a few sparrows and starlings with white tail feathers, but never white on a corvid!

 

[OwlTalon]

Scratch that. Today I saw a Fish crow with a white tip to one of the primaries on his left wing. Never mind the last sentence of my previous post, then!

 

[birderbf]

That reminds me of an albinistic American Robin I had right by my house. It was white except for random black patches and marks, mostly on the wing. I had just returned from Ireland, and I could have sworn it was a White Wagtail until it called!

 

[Storm-Petrel]

I once saw a raven in Eugene Oregon with a large white patch on either side of its neck. It was like the ones juvenile Chihuahuan ravens have, but it was probably a Common raven with a mutation so its usually gray neck feathers were white.

 

[Brushyrun]

In the poultry world, some people would call a bird with random/patchy white feathering a 'splash'. In a lot of other animals, we describe those with white markings as 'pied' or 'piebald' (like a pinto horse).

This sort of occassional white feathering is somewhat different from albinism, where there is a lack of pigment not only in the feathering, but also in the underlying skin. White feathered birds don't always have white/unpigmented skin--silkies being one obvious example.

 

[margs]

I spotted a pair of these crows with white feathers. They appear to be mates as they are always together. These crows have white tipped wings and tail feathers. What a find!!

 

[Abbygirl]

I don't know if they come thru Oregon or not. But I saw crows today that looked like they had white on the backs like the pictures here. I didnt realize they existed. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

 

[Beth J]

Another White-Feathered Crow

Last night I was delighted to find this forum and especially this thread when searching for something -- anything -- that would tell me more about the crow with white feathers we're seeing in Newport, OR. It feeds and with an all-black flock but generally flies off alone when it's had enough (or with the flock if an alarm is sounded). A picture is attached of it on the ground, and just this morning I was able to get a half-way decent picture, also attached, as it flew to a nearby tree. It's been tough trying to get a flight picture that's more than a complete blur! This year there are several of the group that are showing white feathers here and there, but none to the extent of this bird.

It's been very interesting and helpful to read through the discussion here and to learn more about this condition.

 

[jazzmaster221]

i was in northern utah for 28 days ..near lehi ..saw plenty of the white winged crows around .i'll post a pic soon

hahaah''their magpies

 

[gidrkline]

being a physician may or not help here- we see genetically white patches of hair- some with cancer relationships- however my dog gets white patches after local skin/hair infections and stay that way

 

[PeterMiller]

Crow wing

Thanks for all the input. I didn't get any flight photos except this partial wing shot as the crow flew away. It's blurry but you can clearly see his three white primaries.