I had a lot of people view my Chihuahuan Raven photos and videos since my prior post. I still had a couple of pics of a Chihuahuan Raven I photographed in Texas 2 months ago that I hadn't uploaded that I believe clearly illustrates some of the field marks that help differentiate this species from Common Raven. So I took this opportunity to post them on my BirdsAndNature <http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com> blog adjacent to pics I took of Common Ravens in Canon City in Nov, 2010. This allows direct comparison of features clearly showing the long bill of Commons versus the long and thick nasal bristles on the stout bill of Chihuahuan Ravens--field marks noted in *Sibley's Guide to Birds* and other authors. Sibley also shows a difference in how wedge-shaped their respective tails are but this is not shown in my photos and I personally find this a difficult comparison in the field since I most often see this as the bird flies away usually providing only a fleeting view.
I want to note than the Chihuahuan Ravens I have seen in Texas, like the one in the photos in the comparison posting, show strong field marks while my experience in Colorado has led me to shrug my shoulders and just call many here just raven species. Please note that just below this post on my blog are two posts of video clips showing a vulture in Crete being hit by a wind turbine arm. As I note the extended version is very graphic but the short version can also be upsetting as you hear the bird being hit, watch it fall to the ground and trying unsuccessfully to fly. Each of these is a tear-jerker for some of us. This incident, one of many, illustrates the importance of responsible renewable energy development with proper siting criteria, environmental studies etc. SeEtta Moss Canon City http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
