Crows, in Red Hook

For you non-birders, “corvids” refers to members of the family Corvidae, which includes jays, magpies, crows and ravens. They’re smart and playful, often raucous, and you can find them in the most urban of environments. Blue jays gather in scrawny street trees; crows patrol city streets; and ravens, the wildest of them all, are presumed to nest on the roofs of old warehouses and factories along the South Brooklyn waterfront. (As far as I know, no one has actually discovered our ravens’ nest location, which is probably for the best. Let the mystery be.)

Appropriately enough, on this morning’s soggy waterfront run, I encountered four fish crows perching on wires and calling loudly (a grunted “unh-unh”) in Red Hook, and a small murder of American crows over Flushing Avenue by the Navy Yard.

More corvid sightings – these in painted form – are captured below.

Blue jays, in Bushwick

Black-billed magpie – extra-limital, as birders would say. This one resides in Washington Heights, part of the fabulous Audubon Mural Project