Mystery Bird

[Bill Hunter <dixiewillie at skyviewmail dot com>]

Hi

I queried local birders but was unable to get a response, so will post
this to a bigger audience.

We have a local murder of Crows hanging around. Have seen them on occasion
over the past several weeks. Today they were chucking and jiving north
over our house. Probably 100 or more birds. Seem really small compared to
Ravens. Which brings me to the mystery.

I have five feathers given to me by a resident. She says she found them
blown in from the wind on her front porch.  The feathers are all 12"
long. Appear to be flight feathers. All feathers are jet black.  Raven???
Aww but wait, it would not be a mystery without the following.  Three of
the feathers end at the distal end in white. The white ranges from 1/4" to
3/4". And, two of the feathers are trimmed along the full length, on both
sides in white, extending at most 1/4" into the feather. Two of the
feathers are just edged on one side in white. One feather is pure black.
Do Crows or Ravens have touches of white? Not enough white for Magpie.
Turkey vulture? Hawk? Whatcha think?

These feathers were found at a residence in SunRiver, a retirement
community just north (2 miles) of the Utah/Arizona border. The community
resides between I-15 and the Virgin River at the mouth of the Virgin
Gorge. Mean elevation is about 2500'.

Bill Hunter
St. George

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