Eurasian Jackdaw: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe, Africa and Asia. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Ad Konings · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Coloeus monedula
- Family
- Crows, Jays, and Magpies
- Size
- About 34 cm
- Habitat
- Towns, farmland and old trees with holes
- Found in
- Europe, Africa and Asia
The key marks
Small crow with a grey nape and a pale, silvery eye. Rook is bigger, with a bare whitish face and a peaked crown; Carrion Crow is all black with a dark eye.
Voice
A short, bright 'tjak', often from chattering flocks.
Good to know
Pairs stay together for life and often sit side by side, preening each other.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Rook. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in towns, farmland and old trees with holes. It is especially common in Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.