Jack Crow

Apparently the name Jackdaw comes from Jack meaning Small and Daw meaning Bird.  The Jackdaws formed early as a species, becoming distinct from other Crows.  Some even argue they should be in their own family, Coloeus, but to me it fels like they are still part of the clan.  When I see my Magpies, Crows and Jacdaws feeding together, with the very occasional Rook, they are definately the younger, junior cousin, but they are still part of the clan.  Seven of them come to feed.

There are four subspecies of Western Jackdaws with varying territories, Monedula live in Eastern Europe but sometimes winter in England and Spermologus live in England but winter in the Canary Island and Corsica.  Spermologus do not have a white border to their grey nape and are darker in colour, so I would say that my Jackdaws are Spermologus.

Spermologus have a purple sheen to the crown, forehead and secondary feathers and a blue green on the throat primaries and tail feathers.  I think I need to spend more time looking at the Jackdaws next Summer because I have never noticed this.  The sheen is more pronounced just after moulting which occurs between June and September.  The Jackdaw is mostly slate grey with lighter grey on the cheeks, neck and nape and the legs and bill are black.

The most striking thing about Jackdaws is their eyes.  Those of the adults appear white and their stare can be un-nerving. Young Jackdaws have bright blue irises but these fade to silvery white or light grey.  But to me, against the black and grey they lok white.

Jackdaws are excellent fliers, as they are highly manoeuverable and they can glide and tumble.  They glide at about 6 - 11 metres per second, decreasing their wingspan to fly quicker.  They have jerky wing beats and look similar to Choughs and Pigeons when in flight.  Their wingbeats are deeper and faster than other Corvids and they fly in tighter flocks.  On the ground they strut, upright.

Jackdaws communicate a lot.  They make greeting noises as they fly which are described as a metallic tchaayk but I don't think that is quite right.  I can't describe their call  either though! They also have a call to summon their young or mates to food.  Females will beg for food from males and their call when doing so is similar but more drawn out.  They will cahtter together as they roost and a large flock will make a cackling sound.  When they are a week old they make a soft cheep which becomes louder until at day 18 it becomes a penetrating screech.  At Day 25 they become silent if they hear unfamiliar noises.

They like mixed habitats with a mix of large trees, buildings and open ground.  They leave wooded areas to the Jay and completely open areas to the Rook.  They have a central roost and the flock returns their each night.  Their numbers allow them to defend their nests from other corvids, who would steal eggs, but they often congregate with Hooded Crows and Rooks. 

Within the flock males and females pair-bond for life and remain together within their flock.  There is a strict hierachy within the flock.  Males establish their status before they bond and then the famles shares the same status.  Un-mated females have the lowest status.  Higher status birds will peck lower status birds and have first access to food and shelter.

They decide their status by fighting, threat displays and supplanting where one bird is displaced from a perch site.  Several threat positions have been described, bill up, bill down, defensive threat position and forward threat position.  When they fight they they launch themselves at each other and wrestle with their feet entwinned pecking at each other, other Jackdaws will gather and watch.  Another behaviour occurs within pairs where they ruffle their feathers and show their napes to encourage their mate to preen them.

Bill up - bill and head upwards with plumage sleeked.  This is used when entering a feeding flock to show assertiveness and appeasement.
Bill down - with the bill down the bird raises it's neck feathers and may slightly raise it's wings.  This is used in a stand off with another bird until one backs down or they fight.
Forward threat- pushes head forward to the bird makes a horizontal position and they may ruffle their feathers and raise wings and tail too.  Used when competing for females or nests.
Defensive threat - lowers head and neck, spreading tail and raising feathers.

Pairs are entirely faithful  and if the relationship lasts more than six months it will likely be life long.  They stay together even if they can not successfully breed.  Widowed and separated birds often fare badly as they are pushed out of thenests and territories, having to rear young alone.

Nest sites within a colony are occupied for most of the year and are made my heaping sticks into a platofrm which may become very large.  The nest is lined with hair wool and dried grass.  They will defend it from predators and other pairs.  A wide variety of places are used, trees, cliffs, aandoned buildings, chimneys, church towers, even old woodpecker nests and rabbit burrows.  The common feature is that the choosen site is sheltered.

Between 2 and 9 eggs will be laid and take 17 - 18 days to hatch as a naked chick.  They then take about a month to fledge, or grow feathers and then they are fed for a further four weeks.  The last chick to hatch will often die and if food suplies are low then the parents will not invest much time in feeding their young.  Cuckoos will lay their own eggs in Jackdaws nests and Crows, Tawny Owls and Weasels will steal eggs.

Jackdaws forage on open ground, eating small insects, snails, spiders, ocasional rodents, carrion, eggs, chiks, seeds (cultivated seeds, weed seeds, acorns...) and fruit (elderberries, cultivated fruits....).  Their diet consists of 84% vegetable matter, unless they are breeding, when they rely on insects.  They will turn over clods, peck, jump, dig, scatter and probe the soil to find food.  They spend more time exploring and turning over with their bill than other Corvids.  They also ride on other animals, pecking off ticks.

Unusually, Jackdaws share food.  This is initiated by the donor, sharing more of preferred food than less preferred food.  This is not solely about courtship or as parents and there is much higher amount of food sharing than in other species that do this.  It maybe that there are benefits to the flock as a whole for co-operating, it may allow the avoidance of harassment or that the favour is returned.  There may also be a status element.

In the UK, Jackdaws have in the past been heavily persecuted, for their perceived role as vermin of grain crops and fruit, as well as for nesting in belfries.  They can still be trapped in the UK, along with other species of Corvid, because of the belief that they raid the nests of other birds.  They can also be used as a decoy bird to lure other birds.  Personally I belief if people are really upset about the death of other birds, then maybe there should be a reduction in the number of domesticated cats.  I do not see why Corvids should be persecuted.  In this day and age there is more than enough roadkill....

Perhaps because of this persecution, Jackdaws are wary of people, often feeding where people will be in the early morning or evening.  Jackdaws raised by humans are tame however.  Of all the birds who come and feed on my bird seed, jackdaws are the most nervous and it took the longest for them to settle in my presence.  Even so, I often see them there at other times of the day, rooting out the seed that got missed.  I see them all over the place and I know of one local roost.  It seems to me they often call greetings as they fly overhead...

The Jackdaw to me seems to be most comfortable with it's own kind and has a rich social life, with deep connections to loved ones.  The are caring co-operative birds but at the same time they are nervous and more than a little quarrelsome with each other.  But they live within the rules of their society and they know where they are at and who they are.  They are clever and vocal with an understated beauty.  There is something about their eyes and their stare... but they also have good binocular vision for foraging and searching things out, which they love to do.  And they love shiny things and will even share them too

The reverse of affirmation is submissiveness and these birds represent both sides of this moon to me.  They know when to be submissive and when to affirm themselves and maybe that is what they are all about for this Moon, knowing how to balance both sides and maybe that is the best way to be, and being happy with your position.  But their intelligence and searching ways, and their vision and penetrating gaze are gifts too as is their generosity and caring.  They very quickly learn when to sing their hearts out and when to keep quiet.  They are not the biggest baddest beast on the block but they are one that gets by, by depending on their clan and co-operation is key.  I don't think being the lowest ranked member of a clan that likes to share would be so very bad....