Corvidae - jays, crows, and ravens

Mount Desert Island is home to 4 species in 3 genera. Click on a link below or scroll down for more information.
   Perisoreus (1 species)
      Perisoreus canadensis - gray jay
   Cyanocitta (1 species)
      Cyanocitta cristata - blue jay
   Corvus (2 species)
      Corvus brachyrhynchos - American crow
      Corvus corax - common raven

Corvus
[information to be added]

Corvus brachyrhynchos (American crow):
   November 2007: two observations (separated by more than a week) were made of a dark brown (but not black-brown) crow on a lawn/driveway on Gray Barn Road in Bass Harbor [TFV]. The tail feathers were even lighter brown, approaching a cinnamon color (see image below). After the first observation, it was suggested [TAH] that this might be a juvenile bird, and Sibley [2001, p. 410.] said that juvenal wing feathers often weather to a dull brown and contrast with the bird’s black back. A second observation of this bird (or of a second one) was consistent with its being a young bird as it was noticeably smaller than two black crows that it was with. It should be noted, however, that all the feathers of the observed bird(s) appeared to be brown, not just the wing feathers.
   Fall 2008: A bird with a light-colored tail was seen [TFV], this time with primarily black plumage except, again, the tail that was noticeably lighter/browner than the rest of the bird.

(click on image to enlarge)

During the summer, American crows, like many visitors to Mount Desert Island, enjoy a walk in downtown Bar Harbor. Unlike the visitors, however, crows are on MDI year-round.

(click on image to enlarge)

Tracks in the snow of an American crow walking from right to left in the image.

(click on image to enlarge)

30 November 2007: Crows, along with herring gulls (Larus argentatus), were scavenging for food among the cobbles on which people often park their cars near the Seawall Picnic area to look out at the ocean. Two crows were seen pushing rocks out of the way with their bills and sometimes picking up the rocks in their bills and tossing them aside. [TFV]