Jackdaw
Coloeus monedula
UK Conservation Status: GREEN
The Jackdaw is the smallest member of the crow family to be found in Britain. You can see jackdaws at any time of year. They often join up with rooks and carrion crows in autumn and winter to roost together in huge numbers. Every afternoon hundreds of rooks and jackdaws gather in the skies above Park Lane and adjacent roads The actual roost is on the big mature trees on Histon Manor on the north side of Park Lane.
Close up they are striking birds with pale grey on the back of the head and neck and pale blue eyes. The head pattern is very noticeable when birds face off and posture to deter opponents during breeding season disputes.
You can listen to a recording of their distinctive calls here Jackdaw Bird Facts | Corvus Monedula - The RSPB
Jackdaws are colonial cavity nesters and will use anything from a hole in a tree to a chimney. Jackdaw nests are usually constructed with sticks to form the outer section of the nest and lined with wool or hair. They will build their nest to fit the size of the space. In a tree they might only need a few sticks but a chimney is more of a challenge unless they are lucky and a few sticks get stuck close to the top. A local chimney sweep recounted clearing the chimney of a house in the village where the mass of sticks filled nine bin bags. A colony can appear to take over a street with every unprotected chimney occupied.
Jackdaws often pair for life. The pair stay close to each other all the time, even in large winter feeding-flocks. They often appear to be sharing a decision about whether this or that twig is the right one for their nest building before taking the chosen twig to the nest site. Even if they have had a few years of unsuccessfully breeding, they will still remain together.
Groups of jackdaws, which can contain tens of individuals, are often called ‘a clattering’ or ‘a train’ of jackdaws (like the perhaps more familiar ‘parliament’ of rooks).
Within the group there is a strict social hierarchy. Females without a mate are at the bottom of the pecking order: they are the last to have access to food and shelter when times are hard, and are liable to be pecked at by others without being permitted to retaliate. However, when a female finds a mate, she rises to the same rank in the pecking order as her partner and is accepted as such by all others in the group. Then she can peck those lower in the hierarchy.
Jackdaw eggs are pale blue or blue-green and generally covered with darker speckles. A jackdaw nest will normally have four or five eggs, but they all hatch at different times, which means the youngest chick has a significantly lower chance of survival than the eldest. Most years the parents are actually unable to rear all the chicks.
They mainly eat seeds, fruit and invertebrates, but they will pick at road kill or even take other birds’ eggs. The jackdaw diet varies depending on their location, so near farms insects are important, but in urban and woodland areas seeds and fruit make up more of the diet. One of the jackdaw’s specialised foods is ticks, picked from the backs of cattle and especially sheep. In urban areas they use their agility to reach into litter bins and bird feeders.
The oldest ringed bird was 19 years old, although a more typical lifespan would be five years.