Crow moult
Update on crow moulting from the very interesting Cornell site, contra Pyles
Fish and American Crow
"American Crows molt earlier than Fish Crows. During the summer the two species can be distinguished by their stages of molt. In much of their range American Crows breed a month or more earlier than Fish Crows (Johnston 1961, The biosystematics of American crows, Univ. of Washington Press; Clapp and Banks 1993, Raven 64: 90-98; McGowan 2001, Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) in Birds of North America, No. 589). In upstate New York American Crows start incubation the first week of April, while Fish Crows don't start until May. Most birds do not molt until they are finished breeding, and the molting schedules of the two crows reflect the month difference in their breeding schedule. The earliest Ithaca American Crows (non-breeders and those whose nests have failed) will start molting in June and will be finished by the end of September. Ithaca Fish Crows, on the otherhand, start molting in late July and don't finish until October."
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Fish and American Crow
"American Crows molt earlier than Fish Crows. During the summer the two species can be distinguished by their stages of molt. In much of their range American Crows breed a month or more earlier than Fish Crows (Johnston 1961, The biosystematics of American crows, Univ. of Washington Press; Clapp and Banks 1993, Raven 64: 90-98; McGowan 2001, Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) in Birds of North America, No. 589). In upstate New York American Crows start incubation the first week of April, while Fish Crows don't start until May. Most birds do not molt until they are finished breeding, and the molting schedules of the two crows reflect the month difference in their breeding schedule. The earliest Ithaca American Crows (non-breeders and those whose nests have failed) will start molting in June and will be finished by the end of September. Ithaca Fish Crows, on the otherhand, start molting in late July and don't finish until October."
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