Dear Readers,
What a corvid-aware bunch you are! In joint first place with 16 correct out of 16 were Sarah and Andrea Stephenson, you both deserve gold stars! In second place, only a single point behind, were Fran and Bobby Freelove with 15 out of 16. And in a very respectable third it’s Charlie Bowman, with 12 out of 16. I couldn’t be more choughed with the results :-).
Here are the answers….
1. Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)
2.Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
3. Magpie (Pica pica)
4.Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
5. Rook (Corvus frugilegus)
6. (Photo One) Raven (Corvus corax)
7. (Photo Two) Hooded crow (Corvus cornix)
8. (Photo Three) Red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax phyrrhocorax)
Ok, so as if that wasn’t tricky enough, here are the calls. It can be so hard to pinpoint them when they’re out of context.
9. Magpie alarm call. I always think of this as a ‘machine gun’.
10. Jay. A bit of a wheezy sound
11. Raven. I only have to hear this to remember grey skies, the call echoing over a mountain tarn.
12. Rooks. This sounds so much like the West Country to me – there were rookeries both in Somerset where my Aunt Hilary lives, and in Dorchester where Mum and Dad lived.
13. Carrion crow
14. Hooded crow – until recently this bird was thought to be a subspecies of the carrion crow. It’s now out there on its own as a species, but I think the call is remarkably similar. Take a gold star if you were able to tell these two apart!
15. Jackdaws
16. Chough! Its call is described as a ‘richocheting bullet’. See what you think.
Wow! That was interesting
Well I am choughed about that! I found the pictures easy but the calls less so. I’ve seen all those birds, choughs for the first time in Wales last year. I was charmed to find they do indeed say their name, just as the jackdaws on my neighbours’ chimney pots keep up a happy chatter of ‘Jack, Jack, Jack’.
Yes, gold star! I love the choughs, I haven’t seen the red-billed choughs in the UK but I have seen the Alpine ones in Austria. I love the way that they seem to play in the breezes generated by the mountains, but then all corvids seem playful to me.
I really enjoyed that – thanks! I had a hard time on your survey as we could only choose one topic for future quizzes. My tendency is always to like to ring the changes, so occasional bird quizzes amongst the flowers would suit me down to the ground. Even with my poor scores 😄
Ah, the poll was supposed to allow multiple answers so thanks for letting me know! And I think a plant quiz is definitely on the agenda.
It’s nothing to crow about coming third in a three horse race but I’m not going to get raven mad about it.
Ouch.
I’m as pleased as punch that I do actually know something about crows! I regularly see crows, jackdaws and magpies in the local area, rooks less so, and jays usually just when I go to the forest. I’ve never seen a wild raven but look forward to the day when I do and hear that haunting call.
I adore ravens – there is a Facebook page dedicated to one called Edgar who lives on Portland in Dorset which has some fabulous photos called In The Company of Corvids which is well worth a look.
https://www.facebook.com/In-The-Company-of-Corvids-744957029171489/
Hi I request permission from you to reblog to my blog,I wish to write about crows
Granted!
Thank you very much 😊
Go ahead, let me know what the reaction is@
Thank you very much
Reblogged this on AVIAN HUES and commented:
Thank you for sharing the answers! Now I started seeing the difference between different crows.Loved the pictures and audio.I’m sure readers will enjoy this one.
Hi, when I re blogged your post,one of my readers responded like this” Great info. I get all the black-feathered birds confused, but I love to see their feathers shine in the sun to reveal beautiful shades of purples, blues, and greens!” You’re welcome to visit the re blogged post in my blog if you wish to respond to their comments . Thank you!
Thanks bindyamc, I’ll pop over soon!
Your Welcome!