Meaning
'John Crow tink him own pickney white' — the John Crow, the black vulture, thinks its own chick is white and beautiful. Every parent sees their own child as the finest and most beautiful, however plain, black, or troublesome others may find them, the proverb observes with wry affection. Drawn from the ugliest of birds doting on its own ugly nestling, it names the tender blindness of a parent's love, which cannot see a fault in its own, and it is offered half in mockery and half in fond recognition of that universal partiality.
Examples
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She tink har son perfect, but John Crow tink him own pickney white.
She thinks her son is perfect, but every parent sees their child as best.
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Every madda proud a har child; John Crow tink him own pickney white.
Every mother is proud of her child; the vulture thinks its chick is beautiful.
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Nuh mind how him bad, him madda love him — John Crow tink him own pickney white.
No matter how bad he is, his mother loves him — a parent's eyes see only beauty.
Origin
The John Crow (turkey vulture) is a black, plain bird, yet in the proverb it sees its own dark chick as white and lovely — the transforming eye of parental love.
How it’s used
Used, often fondly or teasingly, about a parent who cannot see any fault in their own child.