Breeding birds: 1,400,000 pairs
Family: Crows, Jays, And Magpies
The adult jackdaw has dark grey upperparts with a bluish sheen, slate-grey underparts, and darker upperwings and tail.
On the head, the forecrown is black with a bluish gloss, while the hindcrown, nape, and sides of the head are silvery grey. The bill, legs, and feet are black, and the eyes are pale grey.
Males and females are similar in appearance, though the male’s plumage may fade more noticeably with age.
Juvenile jackdaws are mostly dark, sooty brown and lack the glossy blue sheen on the head, though a greenish sheen may sometimes be visible. The tail may also show a greenish tint. Their eyes are dark brown until the end of their first winter. Jackdaws reach sexual maturity at around two years of age.
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Jackdaws breed from early April to mid-May. They are monogamous, forming long-term pair bonds that usually last for life. Pairs nest in loose colonies, with each resident pair defending its nest site year-round from others of the same species. However, once the colony is established, all members cooperate to defend it from predators.
Nests are built in natural cavities such as tree holes, abandoned burrows, and crevices in rock faces, cliffs, and quarries, as well as in manmade structures like chimneys, church steeples, bridges, monuments, and ruined buildings. The nest is a large platform constructed from sticks, twigs, and small branches, lined with a thick layer of rags, moss, soil, decayed wood, bark, feathers, wool, and hair. Some nests become so heavy that they have been known to collapse under their own weight.
Jackdaws lay 4–6 pale blue or blue-green eggs marked with blackish-brown speckles, which are incubated by the female alone for 17–18 days, while the male provides food. After hatching, both parents feed the chicks, which fledge at around 28–32 days. However, the youngest chick often fails to survive. Once fledged, the family joins others to form summer flocks. Jackdaws reach sexual maturity at two years of age.
Jackdaws eat a varied diet including Invertebrates, fruit and seeds. They will also eat carrion and other birds’ eggs and nestlings.
Jackdaws can be seen all year round in fields, woods, parks and gardens. They are social birds and will often be found with rooks and crows.
The jackdaw’s scientific name derives from the Latin for money due to its supposed fondness for shiny objects.
