Western jackdaw
Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedsongbirds
The western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula) is a small bird in the family Corvidae and the order Passeriformes, the songbirds and other perching birds. Adults weigh from 215 to 246 g, with a representative body mass of 234 g, and have a wingspan of 65 cm.
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Quick facts about the western jackdaw
It is an omnivore with a terrestrial foraging lifestyle, lives in human-modified land and is partially migratory, with a geographic range of 13,980,000 km². It lays one clutch per year with a representative size of 4.5 eggs, incubates the eggs for 18 days, reaches sexual maturity at 1.9 years and has a lifespan of 14.5 years, up to 20.3 years.
- Weight
- 215 g – 246 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 34 cm – 39 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 65 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 14.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 20.3 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 18 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4 – 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 20.9 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the western jackdaw?
Photos of the western jackdaw
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the western jackdaw live?
Not recorded
What is the western jackdaw?
The western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula), also known as the Eurasian jackdaw, the European jackdaw, or simply the jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. It is found across Europe, western Asia and western North Africa; it is mostly resident, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in the winter. Four subspecies are recognised, which differ mainly in the darker or paler greyscale of the plumage on the head and nape. Linnaeus first described it formally, giving it the name Corvus monedula. The common name derives from the word jack, denoting "small", and daw, a less common synonym for "jackdaw", and the native English name for the bird.
Measuring 34–39 centimetres (13–15 in) in length, the western jackdaw is a black-plumaged bird with a grey nape and distinctive pale iris. It is gregarious and vocal, living in small groups with a complex social structure in farmland, open woodland, on coastal cliffs, and in urban settings. Like its relatives, jackdaws are intelligent birds, and have been observed using tools. An omnivorous and opportunistic feeder, it eats a wide variety of plant material and invertebrates, as well as food waste from urban areas. Western jackdaws are monogamous and build simple nests of sticks in cavities in trees, cliffs, or buildings. About five pale blue or mint green eggs with brown to grey speckles are laid and incubated by the female. The young fledge in four to five weeks.
From the Wikipedia article “Western jackdaw” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_jackdaw&oldid=1380253506), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the western jackdaw sound like?
Is the western jackdaw endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the western jackdaw classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCorvidae
- genusColoeus
- SpeciesColoeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Coelus monedula, Coleus monedula, Coloeus monedula pontocaspicus, Coloeus monedula sophiae, Corone monedula, Corvus collaris, Corvus coloeus schluteri, Corvus coloeus tischleri, Corvus monedula, Corvus monedula torquatus, Corvus ultracollaris
Other names and names in other languages (124)
- Common jackdawEnglish
- EUJAEnglish
- Eurasian jackdawEnglish
- European jackdawEnglish
- JackdawEnglish
- KouwAfrikaans
- TuleAlbanian
- زاغ زرعيArabic
- غراب الزرعArabic
- غراب الزيتونArabic
- GralletaAragonese
- choyaAsturian
- CapiellaAsturian
- DolaşaAzerbaijani
- СәүкәBashkir
- DóinBavarian
- КаўкаBelarusian
- КаўкааBelarusian
- ЧавкаBulgarian
- Kavan-tourBreton
- GrallaCatalan
- gralla occidentalCatalan
- ÇovkaChechen
- ЦӓнгӓMari
- ЧанаChuvash
- kavka obecnáCzech
- MòrësKashubian
- Jac-DosWelsh
- jac-y-doWelsh
- allikeDanish
- DohleGerman
- ΚάργιαGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκή ΚάργιαGreek
- MonedoEsperanto
- okcidenta korvetoEsperanto
- grajillaSpanish
- Grajilla occidentalSpanish
- hakkEstonian
- KaelushakkEstonian
- BeletxikiBasque
- کلاغ گردن بورPersian
- naakkaFinnish
- RókurFaroese
- Choucas des toursFrench
- LikfögelNorthern Frisian
- Çore cenerineFriulian
- ToerkaWestern Frisian
- cágScottish Gaelic
- cathagScottish Gaelic
- cathaganScottish Gaelic
- Gralla cereixeiraGalician
- CaaigManx
- Juan teaystManx
- קאקHebrew
- Čavka zlogodnjačaCroatian
- csókaHungarian
- ՃայակArmenian
- Սովորական ՃայArmenian
- ChuvoIdo
- DvergkrákaIcelandic
- taccolaItalian
- ニシコクマルガラスJapanese
- ჩვეულებრივი ჭკაGeorgian
- КъуалэKabardian
- ШауқарғаKazakh
- 갈가마귀Korean
- 서양갈까마귀Korean
- Qirereşka biçûkKurdish
- ChoghaCornish
- SteekuebLuxembourgish
- ЧIагъLezghian
- DäölkeLimburgish
- Cornacialld
- kuosaLithuanian
- eurazinė kuosaLithuanian
- ČāguonsLatgalian
- kovārnisLatvian
- чаҥаMari
- ĊawlaMaltese
- Хар алагтууMongolian
- Tó wónaanídę́ę́ʼ gáagii bitsiiyah halbáhígííNavajo
- kaieNorwegian Bokmål
- TaalkLow German
- kauwDutch
- Caûvette dé cliochinrm
- GralhonOccitan
- Cornalhe éd cloqhéPicard
- KawkaPolish
- kawka (zwyczajna)Polish
- kawka zwyczajnaPolish
- CroassPiedmontese
- gralha-de-nuca-cinzentaPortuguese
- TulaunRomansh
- stăncuţăRomanian
- StăncuțăRomanian
- Stăncuță vesticăRomanian
- Галка ошейниковаяRussian
- КавкаRusyn
- Ciaula cinnirinaSicilian
- KaeScots
- ToardnagájonNorthern Sami
- bealdogáranasNorthern Sami
- toardnagarjáNorthern Sami
- kavka tmaváSlovak
- kavkaSlovenian
- GalaAlbanian
- GalatAlbanian
- sorraAlbanian
- ČavkaSerbian
- чавка - ČavkaSerbian
- TŕcculaSardinian
- kajaSwedish
- ЧәүкәTatar
- kucuk kargaTurkish
- küçük kargaTurkish
- ТаанTuvinian
- ӴанаUdmurt
- ГалкаUkrainian
- галка звичайнаUkrainian
- KauweWest Flemish
- TchaweWalloon
- 寒鴉Chinese
- 寒鴉〔西方寒鴉〕Chinese
- 寒鸦Chinese
Relatives of the western jackdaw
Other species in the same genus Coloeus.
Daurian jackdaw
Coloeus dauuricus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the western jackdaw?
The western jackdaw is a bird in the family Corvidae and the order Passeriformes, the songbirds and other perching birds. It is also called the Jackdaw, Common jackdaw, Eurasian jackdaw or European jackdaw.
How heavy is a western jackdaw?
Adult Western jackdaws weigh from 215 to 246 g, with a representative body mass of 234 g. Their wingspan is 65 cm.
What does the western jackdaw eat?
The western jackdaw is an omnivore, and it has a terrestrial foraging lifestyle.
What habitat does the western jackdaw live in?
The western jackdaw lives in human-modified land. Its geographic range covers 13,980,000 km².
How long does a western jackdaw live?
The western jackdaw has a lifespan of 14.5 years, and the highest value reported by our sources is 20.3 years.
How many eggs does the western jackdaw lay?
The western jackdaw lays one clutch per year with a representative size of 4.5 eggs, and the eggs are incubated for 18 days.
Does the western jackdaw migrate?
Yes, the western jackdaw is partially migratory.
Who named the western jackdaw?
The western jackdaw was named Coloeus monedula by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-jackdaw
“Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-jackdaw.
@misc{western_jackdaw_2026,
title = {Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-jackdaw},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}