[va-bird] Re: a rare crow

[Frederick Atwood <fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have seen at least one similar bird off-and-on
here in Oakton (Fairfax Co). I wonder how common
they are.
FDA
--- "David S. Jackson" <djackson@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> My wife and I had good looks yesterday at a
> bird we didn't previously
> know even existed. Out of the corner of my eye,
> I caught the flash of
> white from a sizable black bird in flight and
> turned to look at what I
> expected to be a pileated woodpecker, a
> long-familiar and always welcome
> visitor. The bird then flew to the ground about
> fifty yards away and
> posed in profile. I stared in disbelief,
> knowing I was seeing a crow,
> not a pileated woodpecker. Even without field
> glasses, I could see a
> thin white line along the primaries, making
> this bird identifiable at
> rest.
> 
> After posing for a minute or so, the bird then
> flew almost directly at
> us, passing within twenty feet before wheeling
> to land in a neighboring
> driveway, joining a couple of normal American
> crows already there. They
> were all of essentially identical size, with
> identical heads, etc --
> only differing in the thin white line this bird
> showed in its primaries.
> The bird posed for another minute or so, before
> flying near us again,
> then angling off to land well up in a tree
> already accommodating a dozen
> or so crows. The bird was silent throughout the
> five or so minutes we
> observed it.
> 
> I was amazed by the amount of white I was
> seeing, spanning primaries and
> secondaries, but seemingly not reaching the
> wing tips anywhere. It's a
> distinct linear feature, with the long
> dimension along the wing -- like
> an island of white floating in a black sea.
> Sibley says "individuals
> with variable white wing-patches are rare but
> regular." His drawing (p.
> 360) doesn't do justice to the amount,
> intensity, or geometry of white I
> saw, but it's reasonably close. I imagine that
> with a variant like this,
> individual birds may differ considerably.
> 
> I returned to the spot this morning, but
> couldn't find the bird among
> the two dozen or so crows nearby. I am hopeful
> it was more than just a
> weekend visitor and will return. This area --
> Pimmit Run stream valley
> -- has had a resident flock of 100 or so crows
> all winter. Specifically,
> the location was the edge of woods, bordering
> the the cul-de-sac at the
> end of Beverly Street in McLean (not to be
> confused with the street of
> the same name in the heart of McLean; these two
> streets are unrelated;
> hey, this isn't Arlington), which is also the
> entrance to Kent Gardens
> Park. The crows spread out along the stream,
> for at least a half mile in
> each direction. There's a nice hiking trailing
> running along the stream.
> 
> Living half a mile away, I visit this area
> daily for a hike of several
> miles. So I will be looking, and will post any
> further sightings of this
> crow.
> 
> I'll be happy to post directions if anyone
> wants them.
> 
> Dave Jackson
> 
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=====
Frederick D. Atwood     fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx
Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675     
http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood
http://www.flinthill.org

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• References:
  • [va-bird] a rare crow
    • From: David S. Jackson

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