Last week I headed to the big pond just before sunset. What a flock of crow!
(No, a group of crow is not a murder of crow. Audubon says that some group names such as a wisdom of wombats or a chain of bobolinks are barroom trivia and not terms used by scientists.)
Crow is one of my favorite birds to watch. They are smart. How smart? They use tools, and, well, look at this 2-minute video. Here is a longer video, a TED talk on the corvids about their smartness.
Have you read the story that went viral a few years ago (IT'S HERE) about a young girl named Abby who feeds crows in her Oregon backyard—and the crows return the affection by bringing her little gifts!
I've tried a couple times to get identification confirmation for crow photos. I thought my photos would provide adequate information.
The response? It's impossible to be 100% sure if it didn't vocalize. (They were socializing, so yes, I heard their calls.) The next question the expert asked, "Did it sound nasal or like the "caw caw" stereotype crow sound?"
This flock made more of the regular caw caw sounds.
I think.
So, my first guess is American Crow.
Want to learn how to identify them?
Here is the call of the AMERICAN CROW.
And, the FISH CROW.
Other clues offered by All About Birds, Cornell University:
Fish Crow - often seen walking or hop-skipping along the ground while foraging; when calling from the ground, it often leans forward and fluffs up its feathers
American Crow - along the coastline, often forages at the water's edge; flies with a rowing motion, rarely glides
Bluejays and magpies are in the same family as the crow. When I was in Steamboat Springs, Colorado a few months ago, I photographed a magpie. Can you see the family likeness?
