Fish Crows look just like American Crows. That's a fact. Fish Crow. American Crow. There’s not a dime’s worth of difference in them anyway so who cares? Right?
Well. There are 51.3 million American bird watchers who care that’s who. (Scary isn’t it?)
They’re not all as nutty as I am--but some are worse. So we’d darn well better get this right. :)
OK. We’ve established they look alike. You’d probably have to shoot one each to tell them apart by looks, and it would still be hard. (Not to mention illegal.)
The easiest way of course, is to bird here on Bird-Call. All you have to do is hover over the photo. How easy is that? But I’m sure you're aware, that works poorly in the field. :)
So...you’re limited more or less to sound. Most famously Fish Crows have a two syllable call, and there are as many mnemonics for it as there are birders. Imagine (if you can) 51.3 million Caw-ahs, Ah-caws, Uh-cuhs (and so on).
And I think I know why...from experience. It’s a fun sound to imitate. (Plus it drives people crazy. Try it!)
(Here's a real Fish Crow call [certificate of authenticity available on request] :) Fish Crow
But in the end, if you really want to add this bird to your life list and aren’t sure which one it is, here’s an old, surefire birder’s tip. You simply walk up to it and ask it straight out, “Are you an American Crow?”
If it says, “Unh-uh” you’ll know. :)
