All About The Jackdaw

The British jackdaw is easily mistaken for a common crow, but these incredible birds are far from them! Although jackdaws are a part of the crow family, they are moderately different to the common crow spotted all over the country. So, what makes the jackdaw stand out from the rest of the crow family? From their identifiable features to their monogamous nesting habits, here’s all you need to know about the jackdaw.

What Do Jackdaws Look Like?

As part of the crow family, jackdaws share many similarities with their corvid siblings. Most notably, they look like small carrion crows with their completely black feathers, save for a glossy silver sheen around the back of the head. Their bill is short and chunky. In addition, jackdaws have noticeable pale white-grey eyes, unlike other crow family members.

What Do Jackdaws Sound Like?

The jackdaw sound gave this bird its name – a ‘tchack’ call delivered in short, high-pitched bursts. A jackdaw call is most noticeable when the birds are in flocks since the group will call out to one another.

What Do Jackdaws Eat?

Although we often blame jackdaws and other corvids for the decline in songbirds, this isn’t the case. The diet of a jackdaw is varied, with foods including seeds, fruit, insects, larvae and food scraps. Although they may take songbird fledglings and eggs, these aren’t primary food sources, and jackdaws only take these as a last resort.

People are increasingly spotting jackdaws at their feeders since they will eat almost any wild bird food available. They are also very adept at clinging to suet ball feeders – another classic bird food favourite of jackdaws.

Do Jackdaws Migrate?

Commonly, British jackdaws do not migrate. They are relatively sedentary birds, opting to stay as close to their breeding grounds as possible. Jackdaws usually only risk flying a few kilometres away from their breeding ground, even during winter. Often, you will hear flocks of jackdaws noisily calling throughout winter.

However, we often have visits from European Jackdaws. These birds have much more migratory habits, flying from their homeland to Scandinavia and similar climates throughout winter. So, some of the jackdaws you see here in the U.K. may have travelled from Northern Europe.

The Jackdaw Nesting Season

The jackdaw nesting season begins around mid-April and ends in late July. As colonial cavity nesters, jackdaws aren’t too fussy about where they set up their nests, whether this be in an opening in a tree or the chimneys of buildings. Often, if the building is inhabited, this can lead to disruptions for the homeowners.

Female jackdaws will lay around six eggs during the nesting season, which she will incubate for up to seventeen days. Once the eggs have hatched, the chicks usually fly the nest four weeks later. Jackdaws are monogamous birds and often pair up for life. However, they don’t usually return to their old nests.

If you are struggling with a jackdaw nesting in your chimney or on your property, under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, you must wait until after the nesting season to remove the nest.  

How Long Do Jackdaws Live?

Jackdaws have an average lifespan of five years in the wild[i], though this may be cut short by disease, predators or starvation. If food is running particularly low during the nesting season, jackdaws may leave the last hatched chicks to die.

Where Can You See Jackdaws?

A jackdaw’s natural habitats are farmland and woodland, the latter often providing safe roosting grounds. However, jackdaws are relatively widespread, with 1,400,000 breeding pairs in the U.K. alone[ii]. Now, you can find them in woods, fields, parks and gardens up and down the country.

If you’re looking out for a jackdaw, you shouldn’t have to travel far; your local park or wood is probably home to much more wildlife than you realise. Also, jackdaws aren’t usually afraid of people, so if you spot one in your garden or the wild, there’s no need to be afraid! Just try not to disturb the birds, and you will be able to observe them in peace. 

Looking Out For The Jackdaw

Here at Garden Bird, we aim to help everyone interested in birds achieve their birding goals and learn about these intriguing creatures. So now you know more about the jackdaw and its habits, we hope you’ll keep your eyes peeled for these incredible birds in the wild!    

Although jackdaws are intriguing birds, many consider them to be pests. If you are struggling with jackdaws on your property, we’d recommend calling the RSPB to prioritise the well-being of the birds.

Do you have any fun facts about jackdaws? Please share your knowledge with us!

Sources

  [i] https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/birds/facts-about-jackdaws/

[ii] https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/jackdaw/

Gemma Sharp

Gemma Sharp is the resident writer for Garden Bird, a supplier of premium bird food and accessories. She has had a genuine love for our feathered friends from a young age, and has dedicated a lot of her time to learning all there is to know about them. If you’re struggling to pick the right bird feed for your garden, need help identifying a type of wild bird, or can’t decide where to put a nesting box, Gemma is the person to go to! She is passionate about sharing her years of learnt knowledge with the public. In her free time, she can be found feeding birds at home with her three young boys.