It should be noted that first year crows are called "brownies" for a
reason. Without seeing the crow its hard to tell if the "coppery brown" is
different that the typical brown of a first year bird, but first year
birds have a brown appearance to their back and wings. As they age this
will turn to black. A young bird should also have a pink mouth (to some
degree) rather than a solid black one of an adult.

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA

"Birds don't read bird books. (That's why they are seen doing things they
are not supposed to do)." -Mary Wood


On Wed, 17 Nov 1999, Lydia Gaebe wrote:

> Denny and Tweeties,
>
> Just last week I spied a crow with unusual coloration....My crow had a
> dark, coppery reddish brown cast to it.
> Not quite as pretty as what you described. I have read *somewhere* that
> crows will sometimes show colors other than black.