Fifure 1 – Fish crow, Fresh Pond Reservation, Cambridge, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2015.

There are two species of crows in Massachusetts, the Fish crow – Corvus ossifragus – and the American crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos. They are hard to tell apart based purely on appearance. Better identification is achieved from their distinctive calls. My best guess for Figure 1, based on size and the slight brownish tinge, is that this fellow is a Fish crow.

I came upon him along the path sitting low in a tree, and as is often the case with crows he was pretty much unphased by my presence.  Indeed, at one point he cocked his head and looked at me directly.  They are very smart birds and also aggressive. You often see them high in the air harassing and chasing hawks.

There is a lot of mythology associated with crows and ravens. We see in their faces wisdom, knowing, and seeing. Sadly this one has very cloudy eyes. I have seen this before at Fresh Pond in other birds. I suspect that it is not cataracts, but some eye disease and this particular bird almost certainly has trouble seeing.

I am also starting to realize how difficult birds’ eyes are in photograph.  They don’t always have the catch-light that we are familiar with in people. You often wind up with a distant alienating eye. They are often hidden against dark coloration. And I am often amazed both at how the eye makes or breaks the photograph and at how much time an effort I spend trying to accentuate but not exaggerate them.

Canon T2i with EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens at 200 mm, ISO 1600, Aperture Priority AE mode, 1/1000th sec at f/7.1 with +1 exposure compensation.