Dennis, I realize I made this interesting claim sound more authoritative
than I shoulda. Here's the story: birdwatching once in the mountains
around Roanoke, Va., with a local bird guide, we were told that the
'large crows' we were seeing were American crows, not Ravens. We did
express amazement, but our guide held firm, saying that Americans came in
bigger and smaller sizes. All I can say is that this lady, who's one of
the owners of pretty good birding shop called "For the Birds" seemed to
know her stuff when we discussed other birds and had been birding the
Roanoke area for a number of years. I wish I could remember her name, but
I've forgotten it.

Harriet W.



On Thu, 17 Nov 1994, Dennis Paulson wrote:

> >Dear Katie,
> >
> > Coming from back east myself I sympathize with your confusion
> >over crows. Not many people in Virginia realize that the American comes
> >in two sizes or that ravens have begun to show up. Ravens' voices are
> >pretty distinctive. I haven't been able to distinguish big Crows from
> >little ones by voice...
> > Like you, I would appreciate some help on this point.
> >
> >Harriet Whitehead
> >WSU, Pullman WA
> >
> Harriet, I have to ask what you mean by "the American comes in two sizes."
> Do you mean *crows* come in two sizes (American and fish) or something
> else?
>
>
> Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
> Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
> University of Puget Sound email: dpaulson at ups.edu
> Tacoma, WA 98416
>
>
>