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The crow

To: "birds" <>
Subject: The crow
From: "Tony Russell" <>
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 20:20:35 +1030
Hi All,
I've noticed a couple of recent postings in which people have reported unsuccessful searches for the House Crow on Phillip Island over the weekend. This lack of success surprises me since it was quite easy to find on Thursday and Friday of last week.
I'm wondering whether some description of the bird might prove helpful, assuming it hasn't either flown to other parts of the island or been disposed of.
The first noticeable thing is that it is a little smaller than the Little Ravens it is associating with. When side by side this is easy to pick.
The second fairly obvious feature is the shape of the upper mandible which has more of a distinct "Roman Nose" curve to it than the Little Ravens.
Least noticeable is the ( at first) barely perceptible grey-brown mantle which is only obvious if a good view of the bird is obtained from the side. In the Phillip Island bird this is darker than I expected from illustrations in field guides ( Simpson & Day being much too light ( sorry Nick), Slater much too grey, Morcombe not bad, but by far the closest is Pizzey ). However, once the mantle is seen, the face is then in fact quite black in contrast, and the eye is dark brown rather than the conspicuous icey blue/white of the Little Raven.
So, don't expect to see a somewhat black and white bird as shown in S&D ( 6th Ed) p285.
A casual look might easily miss the above features, certainly at a distance.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Tony.
 
 
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