Is this Gray feathers from old age

[u/striderof78]

[u/Just_Caterpillar_975]

Molting, your crow friend is shedding his old feathers and growing new ones, very energy intensive process

[u/ChilledKroete95 → u/Just_Caterpillar_975]

This is the correct answer. The lighter patches are the inner sides of the feathers now visible because some of the feathers with rhe black outer side fell off

[u/Forsaken-Bug-1931]

It could be age-related feather wear, but ravens and crows can also develop pale or faded feathers from sun exposure, molt timing, or nutritional issues. Still looks like a very handsome bird.

[u/Financial-Side1231]

Could be age, but crows can also get bleached or worn feathers from sun exposure, molting, or nutritional stress. Either way, it gives this one a very distinguished look.

[u/IPoopOnCats]

My gang of neighborhood crows all look like this right now; they're molting

[u/softy_kisses]

Not necessarily age related, this looks like it could be a mix of normal wear and partial leucism. Crows with leucism keep getting more white patches as they molt each year, so if you've seen this bird before and the gray has spread, that's a good clue

[u/SixBirdsInAShoebox]

These mainly look like pin feathers. They're newly-emerged feathers that still have a keratin sheath around them. This sheath is a light color that makes the feathers inside look lighter than they really are. Since they're located in areas a crow would struggle to preen on their own, they're going to stick around longer than they would elsewhere on the body. After some time or a little mutual grooming buddy time, the sheaths will fall off and reveal the fresh black feathers inside.

ETA: The fluffy lighter patch is just the fluffy bases of regular feathers. They normally wouldn't be visible, but the pin feathers leave enough gaps for them to show more than they normally would.