Tanager 101 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Plymouth rock, MA about a week ago. Is this a Fish Crow? The wing shape appears to be correct for it... I have two more photos I can post if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Unidentifiable without audio 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 What @IKLland said. American vs Fish cannot be determined visually in the field, only by call (or DNA sample!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 46 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said: What @IKLland said. American vs Fish cannot be determined visually in the field, only by call (or DNA sample!). What happened to identifying Fish Crows by their flight feathers? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 58 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said: What happened to identifying Fish Crows by their flight feathers? Is that a thing? I've been wrong before, on more important topics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLecy Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 5 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said: What happened to identifying Fish Crows by their flight feathers? Can you say more? I know they have different wing formulas, but that can be extraordinarily difficult to see in flight. Tricolored and Red-winged Blackbirds have notably different wing formulas, and males even look different, but I can say I have never been able to tell these two apart using that as a field mark. Caveat, I don't live near Fish Crows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 7 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said: Is that a thing? I've been wrong before, on more important topics. 2 hours ago, DLecy said: Can you say more? I know they have different wing formulas, but that can be extraordinarily difficult to see in flight. Tricolored and Red-winged Blackbirds have notably different wing formulas, and males even look different, but I can say I have never been able to tell these two apart using that as a field mark. Caveat, I don't live near Fish Crows. I was just asking. I heard about it years ago, but never really looked into it because I don't see/hear many Fish Crows. I just found this and I can see how it would be difficult to tell. https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/FishCrow.htm 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLecy Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 48 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said: I was just asking. I heard about it years ago, but never really looked into it because I don't see/hear many Fish Crows. I just found this and I can see how it would be difficult to tell. https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/FishCrow.htm Gotcha. I would say this is another example of a field mark that is very noticeable on museum skins and birds in the hand (the famous example being Ring-necked Ducks), and very challenging to observe in real time in the field. In this case, perhaps impossible unless you have spent a massive amount of time studying both species in flight. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWM Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Side note; Fish Crows seem to be expanding North, getting fairly common in central NY. I would hesitate to ID either American or Fish Crow without hearing them (although Fish Crows are suppose to run slightly smaller than American Crows). The pic below was definitely a Fish Crow by it's call, taken in Seneca Falls NY this Spring. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanager 101 Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 I originally asked for an ID on this one because my Sibley Field Guide was showing that flight feathers were different and the bird in my photo appears to match Fish Crow. I probably should have cropped and brighten the photo though so its easier to see... I didn't know that it wasn't a super reliable field mark. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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