Western Jackdaw

birds · crows · Europe · intelligent

Member of crow family. Western jackdaws are passerine birds that belong to the crow family, making them relatives of ravens, crows, and magpies.

Found across Europe. These birds live all over Europe, western Asia, and western North Africa. Most stay in the same place year-round, but jackdaws living in colder northern and eastern areas fly south for winter.

Black and gray feathers. Jackdaws have mostly black feathers with gray or pale patches on their heads and necks. There are four types of jackdaws with slightly different shades of gray and black coloring.

Named by Linnaeus. The famous scientist Linnaeus first formally described this bird and gave it the scientific name Corvus monedula over 250 years ago.

Name means little daw. The word 'jack' means small, and 'daw' is an old English word for jackdaw, so the name basically means 'little jackdaw.'