Thread by @corvidresearch

Today’s #CrowOrNo photo was the recent source of contention for an online birding group. Will #CrowOrNo players likewise be split, or form a clear consensus? I guess we will find out! Answer at 5:40. Good luck! 📸@/photothatmatt on IG

This kind of photo is my favorite kind of #CrowOrNo challenge because it’s inexplicably hard. You have a lot of info and yet you’re just not ~quite~ sure. I second guessed myself too at first. But after some hemming and cawing I landed on #Crow!

How do I know? The proportion of the bill, the proportion of the nasal feathers on the bill and the texture of the throat feathers.

Even though this bill does look heavy, when you look at an actual raven you can see just how much longer a raven’s bill is. You can also see that the nasal feathers on a raven cover more of the bill.

And while the throat feathers are a bit ruffled, they’re too soft looking for hackles. Here’s a photo from a previous game that shows a crow (on top) vs a raven.

So no doubt this game was tough but I think it’s a great example of how much tougher it can get when you start overthinking it, something that’s easy to do.

So sometimes you gotta trust your first instincts and hope for the best. And then keep learning! So thanks for playing everyone! I hope you had fun and will join me next week for another round of #CrowOrNo!