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Fish or American Crow (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter eiguoc
- Start date
Thanks. I found a site with his call & played it for him It was the two note call he said = on the Audubon. org field guide
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That might work where you live, but it's a poor rule to follow in southern Ontario, where American Crows are much more common than Fish Crows. According to eBird, Fish Crows are reported from the county where this photo was taken on 0.15% of checklists, whereas American Crows are reported on 39.6% of checklists. Given how much rarer Fish Crows are in the area, surely any small-looking crow that isn't heard calling is still likelier to be a runty American Crow than a Fish Crow.
This is true, but as a local-ish corvid connoisseur I'm excited to report that Ajax is an exceptionally likely place to find a fish crow. It is a waterfront town right on the shore of Lake Ontario, directly in their breeding range, and bordered inland by protected wetlands. Not only is this an ideal environment, but Ajax is less than 10km away from the eBird hotspot where almost all of those fish crow sightings were reported. In other words, this is where that 0.15% actually come from. The 99% of the county that isn't on the lakeshore can't reflect the likelihood of finding a fish crow in their own neighbourhood
With all that out of the way, I'm VERY confident that this is indeed a fish crow! Truly one of the fishest crows I've ever seen. I do believe they're more visually distinguishable than their reputation suggests. Luckily. this crow here was captured in the best possible position to see the difference.
See how the throat and forehead feathers both stick out in the first photo? They have a fuzzy little beard that's most noticeable when they're calling. This means that their call can identify them even when you can't hear it!
It looks just like the first photo here on the Audubon field guide. Fish Crow
Notice how the feathers shine the same way, too.
Compare with this American Crow photo from corvidresearch.blog:
American crows don't have as much independent control over different groups of head feathers, so they have a smoother silhouette. (Incidentally, this also helps to distinguish a common raven from an American crow.)
Two more smaller clues, both personal observations:
- You can really see the orbital ring around the eyes in your photos. I think it's more noticeable in fish crows, and it highlights how big their eyes are.
- Fish crows have rather prominent auriculars (ear feathers) that convey a fluffy-cheeked look. I find that I can visually separate a fish crow's auriculars from the rest of the facial feathers more often than not, while American crows' blend in a bit more.
Maybe it would be a good idea to make a more comprehensive post some time?
Thank you so much. Apparently this one and another one have been seen in the Rotary park area on & off. I've been missing them by an hour each time lately. Would love to get a recording of themThis is true, but as a local-ish corvid connoisseur I'm excited to report that Ajax is an exceptionally likely place to find a fish crow. It is a waterfront town right on the shore of Lake Ontario, directly in their breeding range, and bordered inland by protected wetlands. Not only is this an ideal environment, but Ajax is less than 10km away from the eBird hotspot where almost all of those fish crow sightings were reported. In other words, this is where that 0.15% actually come from. The 99% of the county that isn't on the lakeshore can't reflect the likelihood of finding a fish crow in their own neighbourhood
With all that out of the way, I'm VERY confident that this is indeed a fish crow! Truly one of the fishest crows I've ever seen. I do believe they're more visually distinguishable than their reputation suggests. Luckily. this crow here was captured in the best possible position to see the difference.
See how the throat and forehead feathers both stick out in the first photo? They have a fuzzy little beard that's most noticeable when they're calling. This means that their call can identify them even when you can't hear it!
It looks just like the first photo here on the Audubon field guide. Fish Crow
Notice how the feathers shine the same way, too.
Compare with this American Crow photo from corvidresearch.blog:View attachment 1645160
American crows don't have as much independent control over different groups of head feathers, so they have a smoother silhouette. (Incidentally, this also helps to distinguish a common raven from an American crow.)
Two more smaller clues, both personal observations:
- You can really see the orbital ring around the eyes in your photos. I think it's more noticeable in fish crows, and it highlights how big their eyes are.
- Fish crows have rather prominent auriculars (ear feathers) that convey a fluffy-cheeked look. I find that I can visually separate a fish crow's auriculars from the rest of the facial feathers more often than not, while American crows' blend in a bit more.
Maybe it would be a good idea to make a more comprehensive post some time?
I would love to see if you do! I have a soft spot for these guys, I see them sometimes by the Niagara River when I'm down there and I think it's interesting how they've been steadily spreading further north for years now.
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