Hooded crow? Hengistbury head, Dorset (Hants?), UK (1 Viewer)

[happylimpet]

September 2009.

Is this a hooded crow or just a leucistic carrion chap or some similar thing?

Is this uncommon? Or a mere nothing?

Excuse my lack of succintness. Free bar at Billund airport.

 

[Quercus]

It doesn't look right for a hoodie!

 

[Terry Townshend]

September 2009.

Is this a hooded crow or just a leucistic carrion chap or some similar thing?

Is this uncommon? Or a mere nothing?

Excuse my lack of succintness. Free bar at Billund airport.

Looks like a hybrid Hooded x Carrion Crow. It's certainly not a pure Hooded.

Terry

 

[happylimpet]

EDIT: In response to earlier comment : no, true. but ive never seen a carrion look more like a hooded. just some kind of throwback i suppose.

and to terry: do you think thats possible or likely? interesting if so!

 

[house-martin]

Interesting picture thanks for posting. I honestly wouldnt know if it was or wasn't a hoodie but i wouldn't think it would be impossible for one to turn up in your area. The pied wagtail has a similar situation with the white wagtail subspecies and they get reported all over the country from time to time so it could potentialy happen with a hoodie.
You could try e-mailing the BTO they may have records of others that have been reported south of the border.

Happy Birding

 

[Terry Townshend]

EDIT: In response to earlier comment : no, true. but ive never seen a carrion look more like a hooded. just some kind of throwback i suppose.

and to terry: do you think thats possible or likely? interesting if so!

The chest pattern is very like a Hooded Crow but the bird is too dark overall to be a pure Hooded. Hooded Crows regularly hybridise with Carrion Crows and there are many hybrids in the UK, particularly in areas where the range of the two species overlaps. I have seen several hybrids on the east coast of England in the winter and we even have a few here in Copenhagen (where Carrion Crow is a scarce bird).

Terry

 

[Marmot]

Here is a hybridised one that Ian {Husband} took a few years ago at Low Barns, Co Durham
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=61833
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=83603

 

[Terry Townshend]

Here is a hybridised one that Ian {Husband} took a few years ago at Low Barns, Co Durham
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=61833
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=83603

A similar bird to yours can be seen here. Hybrids vary a lot from almost pure Hooded to pure Carrion and everything in between. Of course the hybrids themselves breed with pure Hoodeds and pure Carrions, so their offspring will likely look more like one or the other, depending on the parentage and partner.

Terry

 

[happylimpet]

oh yes! that is similar. i notice as a result of this discussion that some authorities now consider them separate species. hmmmm. what do people think about this?

note: i'm not just after an armchair tick by the way......

 

[nirofo]

It's a Hooded x Carrion, we get lots of them like that in the far north of Scotland, looks like more carrion in it than Hoodie.

Here's what a real Hoodie looks like.

nirofo.