| Common Name | Fish Crow |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Corvus ossifragus |
| Type of Report | Rare Species |
| Date of Observation | 05/25/2021 |
| Number Observed | 1 |
| Reporting Observer's Name | Rita Reed |
| Mailing Address | 79 Burgess Road Hoosick Falls, NY 12090 United States Map It |
| Email hidden; Javascript is required. | |
| Date Completed | 05/28/2021 |
| Names & Emails of Other Contributing Observers | Robert Reed - (function(){var ml="4t8m.dea20oibrlgc%",mi="=:4@:3",o="";for(var j=0,l=mi.length;j<l;j++){o+=ml.charAt(mi.charCodeAt(j)-48);}document.getElementById("wpmt-950556-719413").innerHTML = decodeURIComponent(o);}());*protected email* |
| Latitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | 42.8983998 |
| Longitude of Observation (enter 0 if unable to provide) | 73.2122002 |
| Place Name | Price Chopper |
| Township | Bennington |
| County | Bennington |
| Time of Day | 10:13 AM |
| Length of Time Observed | one - two minutes |
| Maximum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 120' |
| Minimum Estimated Distance from Bird (in feet) | 100' |
| Noteworthy Weather Conditions | Partly cloudy, calm, 65 degrees. Clear visibility. |
| Optical Equipment Used for Observation | Human Eye. I had binoculars in the car but did not use them as it wasn't necessary. |
| Observer’s Previous Acquaintance With This or Similar Species | Have seen and heard this species many times in NY state along the Hudson River, especially in Rensselaer County. |
| I certify that any attachments included with this report were captured during this observation event. | |
| Description of Habitat | Price Chopper (Monument Plaza) shopping center parking lot. |
| Behaviors Observed | Profile view of single Fish Crow standing on top of 20-foot high parking lot light post approximately 100 - 120 feet away from where we were standing. As we were packing groceries into the car, Robert's attention was drawn to the nasal ahh-ahh call of the Fish Crow. We did not see any other birds in the vicinity. The bird did not seem to be deterred by activity in the parking lot. We turned around and it was in open view on top the light post. We observed and the bird vocalized again. We resumed our car packing and when we looked again, the bird had evidently flown away. We did not see it fly. |
| Description of Vocalizations | Nasal two part "ahh ahh". |
| Verbal Narrative & Description of Observation | Our observation lasted one to two minutes. Robert's initial auditory recognition and stating that there was a Fish Crow nearby caused us to turn around from our packing groceries to locate it and subsequently confirm that it looked and sounded just like a Fish Crow with is nasal "ahh ahh" call. We ruled out American Crow with its "caw caw", which we hear nearly daily at home. |
| Relative Size & Shape | A relatively small all-black crow which appeared a bit scaled down from the typical American Crow that we see and hear nearly daily at our home in nearby East Hoosick, NY. We did not photograph this bird. We have heard multiple Fish Crows over the years from birding along the Hudson River in Rensselaer County, NY. |
| Head | Black. |
| Feet & Bill | Black Bill, unable to see feet. |
| Upper Back | Black. |
| Lower Back & Rump | Black. |
| Wings | Black. |
| Breast, Belly, Flanks, Under Tail Coverts | Black. |
| Tail | Black. |
| IMPORTANT: What similar species were eliminated when making the identification and how was this bird different? | American Crow is usually a bit larger than this Fish Crow, and has a "caw caw" call. |
| Other Notes & Comments | I was contacted by eBird Regional Reviewer Kyle Jones, who requested I submit this rare bird siting. |
| This report was written from notes taken: | Written from Memory |
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