All photos in this post are (c) Bill Case and are posted with his permission!
These first two images are of the Tamaulipas Crow. Compare the bird to the size of the pipe in the fence, and note the thin bill.
Here it's croaking - the throat feathers are ruffled and not white at the base and the eye is black. I wish we had audio, the call is a nasal croaking - well, here's the only recording posted at xeno-canto.org; recorded by Nathan Pieplow.
Here's a new photo that Bill just sent me - this shows a Tamaulipas Crow on the left, a Chihuahuan Raven in the center, and a Great-tailed Grackle on the right. The photos have been pasted together with the size standardized on the pipe so you can compare the size and shape of the birds. Bill isn't trying to fool anyone with this composite, but it's very educational to compare the relative sizes and shapes of these three species.
These first two images are of the Tamaulipas Crow. Compare the bird to the size of the pipe in the fence, and note the thin bill.
Here it's croaking - the throat feathers are ruffled and not white at the base and the eye is black. I wish we had audio, the call is a nasal croaking - well, here's the only recording posted at xeno-canto.org; recorded by Nathan Pieplow.
The bird below is NOT a Tamaulipas Crow, it's a Chihuahuan (formerly White-necked) Raven for comparison. Note the large heavy thick bill and the larger size relative to the pipe.
Here's a new photo that Bill just sent me - this shows a Tamaulipas Crow on the left, a Chihuahuan Raven in the center, and a Great-tailed Grackle on the right. The photos have been pasted together with the size standardized on the pipe so you can compare the size and shape of the birds. Bill isn't trying to fool anyone with this composite, but it's very educational to compare the relative sizes and shapes of these three species.
The Brownsville Dump is open daily from 7 AM to 3:45 PM according to their website; though other sources indicate they are CLOSED on Sunday. Be sure to follow directions given at the office about access. More information including a map is at the Lower Texas Coast website; the Brownsville Dump is site LTC-041.
THANK YOU Bill Case and Stan DeOrsey for your prompt reporting of this bird and sharing the photos!
