ML646815939

Observation details

Upon arrival, Larry pointed out the crow sitting on top of a pickup, which was a very poor start in terms of perceived provenance. The bird seemed to check all the boxes for American Crow; large head, bill is thick at the base and bill overall looks stocky. Primary tip to tail ratio looked normal. No vocalizations noted. The bird in general seemed comfortable with close human presence, and was seen perched on at least three vehicles. It is quite unlikely this is a naturally-occurring bird, given the location, a single bird, and relative tameness. There are no  solid records of American Crow for Nueces County, although we have an American Birds published record from Nov. 2, 1985 from the Chapman Ranch area, south of Corpus Christi. That bird was thought to be an escapee. There has been at least one previous American Crow, known to be an escaped pet, on North Padre Island. Historically, crows were commonly kept as pets in the Midwest and South, and likely still are to some extent, MBTA statutes notwithstanding.