Crows and jays · Perching birds
Eurasian Jackdaw
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Coloeus monedula
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Voice
Call
Sonothèque ADVL
Call
Joost van Bruggen
Call
Sonothèque ADVL
How to recognize it
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Smaller than a crow, compact build
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Black body with grey nape and cheeks
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Pale eyes, short stout bill
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Flocks tightly, call often metallic "chyak-chyak"
About the species
The Eurasian Jackdaw is a small, compact crow relative that feels very much at home around people. Up close, the pale eye stands out against its dark, plain look more than any single pattern.
It is noisy, social, and fairly bold once it gets used to an area. You usually notice it by its lively call, especially the repeated metallic chyak-chyak or kak-kak, and by the brisk way it walks and shifts through a group.
It uses old buildings, parks, gardens, cemeteries, and other open places with large trees and sheltered corners. It eats a wide mix of food, from insects and other small invertebrates to seeds, grain, berries, and food waste, and most populations stay year-round while northern and eastern ones move south in winter.
Did you know?
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Jealous partner
A male jackdaw guards the pair bond: spotting his mate edging too close to a bachelor, he grabs her by the tail and yanks her back.
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Two thousand kilometres south
In northern populations only old jackdaws stay put year-round; the rest migrate, with some individuals covering more than two thousand kilometres.
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Plucking calves for nest lining
Jackdaws pluck tufts of hair from the back of a calf grazing in a field, gathering lining for their nest.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Coloeus monedula Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — Western jackdaw Encyclopedia article