Crows, ravens, magpies, even blackbirds or other non-corvid species can be tricky to distinguish from one another if you’re a beginning or even experienced birder given the right angle or blurry photo. While some of it is a matter of learning key field markers, a big part of effectively learning to distinguish these species is an eye for the subtle differences in portion or appearance that comes with practice. I believe learning these skills is not only fun, but makes us more informed corvid lovers and birders.
To that aim, I’ve started a weekly #CrowOrNo “quiz” on my Instagram (@corvidresearch) and Twitter (@corvidresearch) accounts. Every Wednesday at 11:30 AM PST, I’ll post one photo and it’s up to you to decide whether or not it’s really a crow. At the end of the day I’ll share the answer and any tips or tricks that would have helped to discern the true species. Play, share, or simply spectate. Whatever you’re comfortable with is fine for me, as long as you’re enjoying the process and learning more about these wonderful animals! Check out the photos below for examples from past weeks. I hope to see you there!
Oh, and have photos you think would make good fodder for the game? Send them my way!
Update: The game is also now available on the Corvid Research facebook page!
corvidresearch.blog 
Sounds like fun. Do you mean identifying American crows specifically or other members of the corvid family? Mark
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Hi Mark, the goal is to decide if it’s an American crow or not. I don’t get too specific though, for example I wouldn’t ask people to distinguish between an American vs fish crow. It’s mostly just crows vs not crows meaning it’s just a yes or no question. If you want to get your nerd on and go deeper though that’s always encouraged!
left-raven
top-crow
middle-don’t know, maybe crows; or maybe not (which I prefer)
bottom-raven
just guessing, nice holiday!
1&3 No
2&4 Yes
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