Brad on Tue Jun 24, 2008 10:49 amHi Everyone,
Here's an interesting story about a couple of albino crows in Vancouver British Columbia. It's really got the bird watchers all in a tither and considering most people don't give a hoot about crows, this is something.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=4eaefb82-e2b8-4d2d-98c7-a1e120533f3e
Jack Keating
The Province
Friday, June 20, 2008
A rare albino crow is photographed in a flower bed in East Vancouver earlier this month.
CREDIT: Pat Brand - for The Province
A rare albino crow is photographed in a flower bed in East Vancouver earlier this month.
Bird watchers are all a-twitter over the sighting of two albino crows in east Vancouver.
Pat Brand and his wife Georgia spotted one in their yard in the 5900-block Lancaster Street.
At first they thought it was a pigeon or sea gull, but its distinctive pink eyes gave it away as a rare albino crow.
"It looked like a crow and . . . there was a number of crows flying overhead and kind of dive-bombing us as we were getting close to it," said Brand.
The couple called the SPCA and wildlife officials for advise after the June 1 sighting and were told to leave the bird to its own means unless it was in obvious danger.
Bird experts say an albino crow is rare. "I've been watching birds all my life and I've never seen an albino crow. So it's very rare," said Dick Cannings, a bird biologist and bird watcher in Naramata.
"But there are many birds and animals out there, so occasionally we see them. It's like albino humans are rare.
"And a bird, certainly like an albino crow, kind of stands out because it's supposed to be black, and it's white."
Brand and his wife watched the bird move from the side of the house to the front garden.
"Eventually it plunked itself down in our flower bed at the front of the house," said Brand. "And that's where the series of pictures that I took, that's where it was. It still had fluffy feathers on its side and it was pure white.
"It was pretty in the sense it was unusual. The beak was a pinkish colour with distinctive pink eyes."
Brand said two albino crows have been spotted in the neighbourhood.
"Our neighbour has seen two of them," said Brand.
Two white ravens were recently photographed near Qualicum Beach by bird-watcher Mike Yip. They are not albino because they have blue, not pink, eyes.
Here's an interesting story about a couple of albino crows in Vancouver British Columbia. It's really got the bird watchers all in a tither and considering most people don't give a hoot about crows, this is something.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=4eaefb82-e2b8-4d2d-98c7-a1e120533f3e
Jack Keating
The Province
Friday, June 20, 2008
A rare albino crow is photographed in a flower bed in East Vancouver earlier this month.
CREDIT: Pat Brand - for The Province
A rare albino crow is photographed in a flower bed in East Vancouver earlier this month.
Bird watchers are all a-twitter over the sighting of two albino crows in east Vancouver.
Pat Brand and his wife Georgia spotted one in their yard in the 5900-block Lancaster Street.
At first they thought it was a pigeon or sea gull, but its distinctive pink eyes gave it away as a rare albino crow.
"It looked like a crow and . . . there was a number of crows flying overhead and kind of dive-bombing us as we were getting close to it," said Brand.
The couple called the SPCA and wildlife officials for advise after the June 1 sighting and were told to leave the bird to its own means unless it was in obvious danger.
Bird experts say an albino crow is rare. "I've been watching birds all my life and I've never seen an albino crow. So it's very rare," said Dick Cannings, a bird biologist and bird watcher in Naramata.
"But there are many birds and animals out there, so occasionally we see them. It's like albino humans are rare.
"And a bird, certainly like an albino crow, kind of stands out because it's supposed to be black, and it's white."
Brand and his wife watched the bird move from the side of the house to the front garden.
"Eventually it plunked itself down in our flower bed at the front of the house," said Brand. "And that's where the series of pictures that I took, that's where it was. It still had fluffy feathers on its side and it was pure white.
"It was pretty in the sense it was unusual. The beak was a pinkish colour with distinctive pink eyes."
Brand said two albino crows have been spotted in the neighbourhood.
"Our neighbour has seen two of them," said Brand.
Two white ravens were recently photographed near Qualicum Beach by bird-watcher Mike Yip. They are not albino because they have blue, not pink, eyes.
. The beak in the photo seems very short and wide for a crow . Personally I like the looks of the black ones better 
...... but its sure a rarity . 
