Eurasian Jackdaw Life History

Habitat

Eurasian Jackdaws often inhabit towns and cities, where they nest in chimneys, old church towers, and other human structures, and roost in large flocks in parks. They also nest in tree cavities in open woodlands and in rock crevices at sea cliffs. Foraging birds utilize parks, pastures, and other open areas with short vegetation.

Food

Eurasian Jackdaws are very opportunistic and adaptable omnivores, with an overall diet that includes insects, other invertebrates, fruits, seeds, carrion, garbage, and more. The specific diet of individuals depends on habitat, food availability, and season. Some studies have found jackdaws eating almost exclusively plants, while others have shown a strong reliance on animal matter. Eurasian Jackdaws typically forage on the ground, exploring areas with short vegetation in parks or pastures. They usually feed in pairs or small flocks, and often forage alongside larger Rooks.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Nest is typically built in a cavity, but in some areas, is placed on a tree branch. Commonly used sites include tree cavities, rock crevices, chimneys, bridges, nest boxes, used Black Woodpecker cavities, and rabbit burrows.

Nest Description

Nest usually consists of a base of branches and sticks, layered with mud or dung, and then lined with fine roots, moss, hair, feathers, and more. Nests vary considerably in size and shape depending on the cavity in which they are built.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Eurasian Jackdaws are very social birds, forming noisy flocks outside of the breeding season. Typical flocks are small (1–10 birds), but during the winter months, birds may gather in large group roosts that contain hundreds or thousands of birds—sometimes as many as 40,000 individuals. Eurasian Jackdaws are agile and accomplished fliers, taking advantage of winds and updrafts to soar and perform impressive group acrobatics.

Jackdaws usually begin breeding when they are two years old. Pairs form lifelong bonds, remain together year-round, and, when joining flocks, stay closer to each other than to other flock members. Both sexes build the nest, which is sometimes built on top of nests from previous years. The female incubates the eggs, and then both adults feed the chicks. Young birds typically leave the nest after about five weeks and remain with their parents and siblings in a family group for about a month after fledging.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Eurasian Jackdaw’s conservation status as Least Concern, due to an extremely large range, a stable population trend, and an extremely large population size (estimated at 39–85 million mature individuals).

Credits

Cramp, S., and C. M. Perrins (Editors) (1994). The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 8: Crows to Finches. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (2022). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org.

Jonsson, L. (1992). Birds of Europe: with North Africa and the Middle East. Christopher Helm, London, United Kingdom.

Madge, S. and E. de Juana (2020). Eurasian Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.eurjac.01

Svensson, L., K. Mullarney, and D. Zetterström (2009). Collins Bird Guide. Second edition. HarperCollins, London, UK.

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