Carol Stoner wrote:
>
> What is the size range for our local crows? It seemed to me that I
> was seeing a lot of birds that seemed rather small during the late
> summer/early fall. Now the birds I see appear larger, more the size I
> expect a crow to be. Were the birds I was seeing earlier youngsters
> that hadn't reached their full size? How long do crows take to reach
> adult proportions? Is the apparent size difference the result of
> molting vs. being fully feathered? By the way, I am already seeing a
> pair hanging out together in our neighborhood, preening one another.
>
> Here's to a 2008 filled with bird sightings, stories and questions.
> Carol Stoner
> Renton WA
> stonefam AT gte d0t net
You could have seen some younger crows? Were they begging? It's common
in late summer/early fall to see and hear young crows that are fledged
and probably able to take care of themselves but still want mom and pop
to take care of them, so they will sit and beg for hours. Or could you
be seeing both American and Northwest crows. Northwest crows are a
little smaller. Since I've lived in the PNW most of my life, I assume
that I've seen Northwest crows frequently, but when it comes to certain
identification, I sure wouldn't want to stake my life on telling them
from Americans.

Maybe someone could enlighten us further on relative sizes of fledged
current year brood vis-a-vis adults.

Dale

--
Dale Chase
(AKA ravenintherain)
Seattle, Washington
ccorax at blarg.net