CLOSED: Types of crows

While watching my 3 local crows eating their breakfast the morning, it occurred to me that these were very different than the ones of my childhood 100 miles south of here in central Arkansas. I've looked in my pitiful Golden bird books and do not see the ones that I grew up with.

The ones that I remember from childhood had orange legs, beak and eyes, with the typical crow black body. We called the totally black ones that I have now Ravens, and they were rarely seen. What are the names of these different birds?

Can you get a pic of them? Not that I'LL know, but someone on the birdforum will!!

No camera, but the ones in my area are common crows, according to the Golden books. It is the ones that I remember from childhood that I would like to know what are.

Here are some different crows:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/go/338/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/go/16/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/go/572/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/go/828/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/go/455/
http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/go/752/

Thanks threegardeners, but there aren't any in BF that have the orange. Could they be juveniles?

All crows have black legs and bills - anything you saw in the past with orange legs and bills must have been something else (or mis-remembered!!). The only exception to this is that nestlings are red inside their mouth, though the outside of the bill is still black.

Resin

Quite possibly they were something else.

Thanks for your help, everyone.

Maybe what you are remembering are Blackbirds?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/showimage/181/

hehe...well, there have to be some kind of Blackbird in Arkansas, doesn't there? It was the only one I could find in Bird Files.

Sure enough! I'd bet that those were the ones that I am miss-remembering.

I just seem to remember my GDad telling me the difference between crow, raven, and another name that I cannot remember, but was a raven family member.

Funny the jumbled memories of small kid time. I remember this from the age of 4-5.

Thanks again to all.

This message was edited Jan 16, 2009 11:01 AM

Ugghh, the common names again... Yes, there are North American "blackbirds" - see Rusty Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird (also Yellow-headed, Red-winged, Tricoloured)... though none of these has orange bills and legs either.

Hmmmmm. ?