Such a Thing As a GIANT Crow!?!?!

[Laurajean]

I was just sitting here poking around the message board, and I heard this heavy thumping at or one my house. It sounded like a person was bounding up onto my porch or something. I ran out and saw nothing, but heard thumping around on my roof. I walked around to the side of my house and saw what appeared to be a GIGANTIC crow take off from my roof. But I mean unbelievably huge! I've lived in the wilderness and country my whole life, and I've seen a lot of crows, even close up, on many occasions. This was like nothing I have ever seen. Bigger than any hawk or eagle. I am assuming it's a crow, unless there's some other species out there that looks exactly like a crow that I don't know about.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this? I stood there literally gaping as it flew off and felt totally stunned. Of course no witnesses!

 

[PhilErvin]

Could be a Raven. We have Ravens around here. Ravens are usually the size of a large hawk with a wing span of 50 - 60 inches. They will keep hawks away cause hawks raid their nests. Ravens don't attack the chickens.

 

[BeccaOH]

Black Vulture?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Possibly a raven. I don't know if they are common up there or maybe someone's pet escaped.

 

[Mama C]

It may have been a raven. I saw some of them up close when I was younger and I remember being amazed at their size. They aren't found in the numbers they once were, but they do still live in the Northeast part of the US.

That or you have gigantic mutant crows. It could go either way.

 

[Laurajean]

Wow, the self proclaimed country girl just learned something new, because I honestly always thought crows and ravens were two names for the same bird, shows how much I know! I would say definitely a Raven. After reading these responses, I looked up Ravens and compared Crows and Ravens, and it clearly is a Raven. A couple articles said they were near extinction in the 1880's but have recently made a strong comeback. I would say it's wing span was nearly 5 feet. It also seemed so truly jet black, even blacker than a crow, odd as that sounds.

I didn't mention before that directly below that side of the house is my garbage, which I've discovered has been broken into. I didn't think a crow would do that, but read that Ravens are even more scavenger-ish and will rip into garbage. Also, the articles said that Ravens are more likely to be found in the deep woods, and I am definitely in the woods!

I just can't believe how huge he was. Kinda cool to be honest, even though I'm not thrilled about him poking around my garbage, and soon my chickens will be outside, but it's good to hear they don't really attack chickens.

Thanks for the input, I learned something new today!

 

[Ridgerunner]

They may not bother full grown chickens, but I would expect them to eat young chicks. Crows will. Something you might want to consider.

 

[Nevada Desert Chick]

Sounds like it's possibly a raven. Ravens are common here and they'll prey on small animals and birds--- I've see them carry ground squirrels and even chicken sized eggs! I don't think they would hesitate going after a small chicken...

 

[Laurajean]

Well, my chicks won't be outside until they are feathered and ready for the coop, and then they will be in an enclosed run. I wish so badly I could free-range them, but I've heard too many horror stories from the neighbors about the predators around here taking all their chickens. So my plan is to build them a very large desirable enclosed run, even with hardware cloth on the bottom. Only when that is complete will my chicks go out there.

 

[tigerkitten45]

Guaranty that it is a raven, and it will go after your chicks if it can. We have a whole nest of them close to here and they make a racket.