I have posted more photos of the crow/raven that I first asked about a couple of weeks ago. After seeing the new photos Judy Hoy sent I no longer think this is an American Crow, at least not a "normal" one. It is possibly a very small raven? We both would like your input. The background is given below and the new photos (show wings extending just past tail) along with wing cord and other measurements are posted on my web "crow pages" at:

http://www.enduringibis.com/corvid/crow_home.html

Click on "Odd Crow or Tiny Raven" near the top of the page.

For those who didn't catch the original inquiry about this bird, I am hosting the photos for Montana wildlife rehabilitator, Judy Hoy. This is the third "crow" with raven wing and head characteristicts that has come through her facility. Here is the story of this one, now known as Craven.

"I have had Craven for about two months and the tail feathers have been the same length the entire time. Craven had a broken wing and could not fly for some time before I got the bird. People fed him/her in their yards in Missoula while the wing healed. When it got cold, someone caught Craven and I had the bird brought to me. I was told that it was a Crow. Both Crows and Ravens live in Missoula, especially near the rendering plant. The other two birds exactly like Craven had completely grown tails also. One mini-raven came from a town south of us, Hamilton, Montana, which is about 50 miles south of Missoula, Montana from where Craven and one other mini-raven came." Also, Craven sounds like a crow.

Any expert opinions? Are some ravens getting smaller or are some crows growing really long wings?

Thanks and enjoy the photos. I was struck by the alert, intelligent look in Craven's eyes; and the scared look he/she has in the photo with the jesses, confirmed by Judy Hoy who said Craven did act scared when he/she had on the jesses.

Judy Rowe Taylor
Mukilteo, WA
mailto: judyrowetaylor at comcast.net
www.enduringibis.com
"Art is a voice of the heart, a song of the soul."