I had an interesting experience last week. I was on the north side of the lake at East Fork State Park, Clermont County, last week photographing insects when I heard a nasally two note call. It has been a couple of years since I have heard a Fish Crow but this bird sounded very close. I tracked it down and found a single crow hidden behind some branches in a tree overhanging the lake. It continued to make the two note nasal call. I called Bob Foppe and he played some Fish Crow calls so that I could hear them over the phone. The duration of the two notes of the call were almost identical, however the East Fork bird's tone was a little deeper. It also seemed a little deeper than what I recall from time spent in Fish Crow habitat. The bird continued to call a few more times while staying mostly hidden then went silent for about 10 minutes. After that it flew about 100 yards to a snag where it perched in the open and proceeded to make typical American Crow calls. I concluded that it was most likely an American Crow. There were no other crows in the area for the 45 minutes that I was at the location. Cheers, Bill Hull Cincinnati, OH, USA http://www.mangoverde.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/mangoverde/ On Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 8:24 AM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Well, when we start to recycle the bird-name abbreviation issue (I know > of a completely unambiguous 29-character system for North America I'm > willing to share: it would be even shorter except for the pesky > 'northern rough-winged swallow'), it's time to try something new. > I read something the other day that suggested a series of posts, I > hope > informative and interesting, about Ohio records that would, had they not > been forgotten, ignored, or disputed, have added new species to the > state list. > #1 is fish crow. On page 67 of "Birds of West Virginia. Bulletin #3 of > the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station," by W. D. Doan, > published in Morgantown in 1888, appears the following entry: "FISH > CROW. Corvus ossifragus. Resident. Rare. I saw two Fish Crows on > Blennerhassett Island October 2. They were flying over the island to the > Ohio side." > In a quick look, this work looks like a conscientious compilation of > its time. One slightly whacky thing I found is its inclusion of northern > shrike and omission of loggerhead shrike. Fish crow has a firm place on > today's West Virginia list, for many more reasons than this report; > George Hall acknowledges it, accompanied by a bit of skepticism, in his > "West Virginia Birds' (1983). > Part of the reason Ohio doesn't have this species on its list involves > ID problems far more difficult than those regarding shrikes. Fish crows > are somewhat smaller than American crows, and there are some > morphometric differences if you have the bird in hand. There are some > behavioral clues that might lead one to look more closely, but for the > most part one should rather listen more closely. Corvid expert Kevin > McGowan has some excellent advice at > http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/FishCrow.htm . Most authorities seem > to agree this species is slowly extending its range inland via major > watercourses, and Doan's report supports the idea of being extra alert > for this bird along the Ohio River. > More on other species later, > Bill Whan > Columbus > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at > www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]