a flock of black-billed magpies, native to western north america, perch on a sheep. this behavior is noted in many corvid species, and is typically done so the birds can eat ticks off of the animal’s body, making it mutually beneficial for the birds and the sheep.
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a normally colored blue jay feeds a pure white offspring. it’s likely the young bird has leucism, a reduction in pigmentation. birds with abnormal coloration rarely make it to adulthood – many young birds don’t make it to their first year of life anyway, but added pressure from predators and rejection from other birds can affect birds with plumage differences.
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a black-billed magpie hitches a ride on the back of a truck. magpies are known for their intelligence, which helps them to take advantage of situations presented in urban environments like this.
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a nest full of baby common ravens. ravens are altricial, meaning that when they hatch, they are flightless and helpless, completely dependent on their parents. even after fledging the nest, the young rely on the parents for supplemental feeding.
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a leucistic black-billed magpie hangs out with normally-colored flockmates. normally, leucistic birds have shorter lifespans – melanin is component that strengthens feathers, and leucistic birds’ feathers degrade faster as a lack of that pigment; as well as making them more visible to predators.
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unlike most crows, several species of crow native to australia have light-colored eyes. the torresian crow has bright white irises. otherwise, australian crows are very similar to other continent’s crows.
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two blue jays investigate a feeding station. native to north america, blue jays are a member of the corvid family, which also includes crows and ravens. the corvid family is known for thee intelligence and recorded tool use in several species.
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an american crow preens another’s head. crows not only preen their mates, but other flock members. they are highly social and devoted to other members of their flock.
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common ravens may be stereotyped as aloof loners, but they are incredibly social birds. ravens live in a flock called an unkindness. flock members respond to calls for help and assist other flock members in defending against predators. ravens are monogamous, and pairs are devoted to each other and can frequently be seen together consistently engaging in ‘couple’ behaviors like preening.
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albino and normally colored american crows stand next to each other. albino crows rarely make it to adulthood; they are often ostracized by their peers, more visible to predators, and have weaker eyesight and feathers due to lack of melanin.
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today's bird 