Crows, Magpies, Vultures, and Gulls:
Crow Turkey Vulture
Common Raven California Gull
Black-Billed Magpie
Crow Turkey Vulture
Common Raven California Gull
Black-Billed Magpie
Crow: (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Order: Passeriformes Characteristics: Crows are black birds known for their intelligence and adaptability, and for their loud, harsh "caw." Rooks are smaller than crows and have distinct wedge-shaped tails and light-colored bills. American crows differ from common ravens in several ways. Ravens are bigger; their voices are hoarser; and they have heavier bills. Ravens' tails and wings come to a point. Crows are extremely intelligent birds. They are known for their problem-solving skills and amazing communication skills. For example, when a crow encounters a mean human, it will teach other crows how to identify the human. In fact, research shows that crows don’t forget a face. Many types of crows are solitary, but they will often forage in groups. Others stay in large groups. A group of crows is called a murder. When one crow dies, the murder will surround the deceased. This funeral isn’t just to mourn the dead, though. The crows gather together to find out what killed their member. Then, the murder of crows will band together and chase predators in a behavior called mobbing. With some crow species, the yearlings and non-mating adults live in a group called a roosting community. Picture: https://corvidresearch.blog/2020/05/19/the-adorable-guide-to-distinguishing-american-crows-and-common-ravens/ |
Common Raven: (Corvus corax)
Order: Passeriformes Characteristics: Ravens have large, stout bills, shaggy throat feathers, and wedge-shaped tails, visible best when in flight. Ravens are excellent fliers, engaging in aerial acrobatics and sometimes soaring to great heights. Flight is often an alternation of wing flapping and gliding and is deceptively fast, as ravens move quickly with seemingly slow wing beats. In courtship flights ravens fly with wingtips touching, and repeatedly dive and tumble together. There is no mistaking the raucous call of the raven; the deep, resonant “kaw” or “prruk prruk prruk” is its trademark. However, the raven can produce an amazing assortment of sounds: mews, whistles, high-pitched cries, “glooks,” and dripping water sounds. Ravens are among the most intelligent of all birds and can learn by watching, solve problems using logic, and recognize different individuals, human and raven. They are playful and carry sticks and feathers aloft, trade them back and forth in flight and drop and retrieve them in air; they will repeatedly slide single file down snow fields. They also interact in a playful fashion with other animals, including wolves and bears. This likely helps them when their scavenging puts them in close proximity to these predators. Picture: https://corvidresearch.blog/2020/05/19/the-adorable-guide-to-distinguishing-american-crows-and-common-ravens/ |
Black-Billed Magpie: (Pica hudsonia)
Order: Passeriformes Characteristics: Black-billed Magpies are familiar and entertaining birds of western North America. They sit on fenceposts and road signs or flap across rangelands, their white wing patches flashing and their very long tails trailing behind them. This large, flashy relative of jays and crows is a social creature, gathering in numbers to feed at carrion. They’re also vocal birds and keep up a regular stream of raucous or querulous calls. Like most members of the jay family, the Black-billed Magpie is a nest predator, although eggs and nestlings make up only a tiny portion of the bird’s overall diet. Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/magpie-crows-birds-bird-5130194/ |
Turkey Vulture: (Cathartes aura)
Order: Falconiformes Characteristics: Turkey Vultures appear black from a distance but up close are dark brown with a featherless red head and pale bill. While most of their body and forewing are dark, the undersides of the flight feathers (along the trailing edge and wingtips) are paler, giving a two-toned appearance. Turkey Vultures are majestic but unsteady soarers. Their teetering flight with very few wingbeats is characteristic. Look for them gliding relatively low to the ground, sniffing for carrion, or else riding thermals up to higher vantage points. They may soar in small groups and roost in larger numbers. You may also see them on the ground in small groups, huddled around roadkill or dumpsters. They are scavengers that play an important role in the ecosystem by eating dead animals. Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/turkey-vulture-raptor-scavenger-1777860/ |
California Gull: (Laruscali fornicus)
Order: Charadriiformes
Characteristics: California gulls are medium-sized, white-headed gulls with gray backs, yellow legs, and dark eyes. They are strong fliers and opportunistic foragers that eat a variety of foods. Gulls are often thought of as coastal birds, but California Gulls are also common in inland areas in the West. These medium-sized gulls breed in colonies on islands and levees in lakes and rivers. You'll also spot them in pastures, scrublands, and garbage dumps as they often forage miles from the colony, eating everything they can find from mayflies to garbage. In the winter they head to the coast where they cruise up and down the shoreline with other gulls. Picture: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Gull/id
Order: Charadriiformes
Characteristics: California gulls are medium-sized, white-headed gulls with gray backs, yellow legs, and dark eyes. They are strong fliers and opportunistic foragers that eat a variety of foods. Gulls are often thought of as coastal birds, but California Gulls are also common in inland areas in the West. These medium-sized gulls breed in colonies on islands and levees in lakes and rivers. You'll also spot them in pastures, scrublands, and garbage dumps as they often forage miles from the colony, eating everything they can find from mayflies to garbage. In the winter they head to the coast where they cruise up and down the shoreline with other gulls. Picture: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Gull/id