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Big Black Crow With Yellow Beak, Uk (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jcstanley
- Start date
Welcome to Birdforum jcstanley, could your bird be a Rook with a stained beak? They are the size of a Carrion Crow, but have a straight, featherless beak that gets paler at the base with as it matures.
Sasquatch Fingers
International Man of Leisure
Not sure about range, but maybe a Chough?
I think most birders have heard reports of crows with yellow beaks. They have been discussed extensively on this forum in the past. No one ever provides a photo of such a bird, however, and the reports always seem to come from people who are not experienced birders. I do not know what you saw; if it really was a crow with a yellow beak that would be extraordinary. People on this forum are usually very good at coming up with answers to the questions posted here, but I guess I am just trying to warn you that in this case you may not get a satisfactory identification of the bird.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
It would have to be Alpine Chough with a yellow bill and there are none in the UK.
A
Dolly pops
New member
My wife and I both saw a crow with a yellow beak..... And all we can find is the alpine chough....
lockbreeze926
Well-known member
How about unusually dark Common Buzzard in bad light?
How about a crow with a french fries in the bill?
Southern Frogmouth
Well-known member
In the 1980s there was a report of a juvenile Chough, if my recollection is correct it was near Wraybury, so myself and friends decided to go and look for it as it wasn't far. I think before we got there we had heard it wasn't a Chough but we went to look anyway. It turned out to be a normal Jackdaw with a yellow bill, whether from staining or a genetic aberration we couldn't tell. Obviously from back then I don't have a photo but it was definitely a Jackdaw with a yellow bill so they do exist and I guess it might be possible in other species too but have no evidence of that.
Cheers
Roy
P.S. it definitely was not something in the bill - french fries or otherwise.
Cheers
Roy
P.S. it definitely was not something in the bill - french fries or otherwise.
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Bismarck Honeyeater
Barely known member
It is very common for experienced birders to make mistaken identities, often corrected quickly, sometimes not quickly enough. 😉
For non-birders it is even easier to be misled by one feature or another and come to the wrong identification. No offence intended.
An example from Reddit recently:
For non-birders it is even easier to be misled by one feature or another and come to the wrong identification. No offence intended.
An example from Reddit recently:
Greyilocks
New member
I saw this today.
It was Jackdaw-sized, and there were Jackdaws on the same roof, and my son said this had a grey neck/head (I couldn't see the grey), yet it had a yellow beak. I guess it might have been a blackbird, though it seemed bigger.
www.birdforum.net
It was Jackdaw-sized, and there were Jackdaws on the same roof, and my son said this had a grey neck/head (I couldn't see the grey), yet it had a yellow beak. I guess it might have been a blackbird, though it seemed bigger.
Screenshot 2023-09-10 at 16.46.08.png
The same size as a Jackdaw, but with a yellow beak
www.birdforum.net
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lockbreeze926
Well-known member
Could be a Starling.
birdboybowley
Well-known member.....apparently so ;)
Jackdaw with a chip (?) in its bill
Greyilocks
New member
I don't think so. It was quite a big bird. My dad said it was a crow, but we said it was a jackdaw, and I took a picture to zoom in, and show him it was a jackdaw. I thought the yellow beak would be a giveaway as to who was right, but it seems to have clouded things.
Greyilocks
New member
The beak looks kind of odd, and may indeed be a chip rather than a beak. I'll have to go back looking for it ...
Greyilocks
New member
I've looked very closely at the photo, and I think I can see its black beak, holding a chip. It looks like the angle and positioning of the chip was almost perfect. Thanks for all your feedback! 
Harrybongo
Now, approximately, 33.33% accurate on bird IDs 👍
👍 😂
Harrybongo
Now, approximately, 33.33% accurate on bird IDs 👍
Hi. A juvenile chough has a yellow /orange bill, so might be that?
Bewick
Well-known member
Think a chough would be a rarity over there...
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