Australian Birds: The Blue-Eyed Raven (Corvus coronoides??)

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I saw this guy down by the lake - and, yes, it could just as easily be a girl, but I don't know how to tell, so live with it. What struck me was the colour of its eyes. It really does have blue eyes, a startling, surprising blue. Check it out.


 And throat feathers that remind me of a beard, when he checks out the sky.



Although the effect disappears when it turns its head.


After taking a good, long look at me and deciding I was no threat, this not-so-little guy continued hunting for whatever it was that had taken his fancy earlier.

But I wonder if it's the same bird. All the descriptions I've seen of Corvus coronoides have it with white eyes. Why does this one have eyes so clearly blue?
Location: Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

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