# Western jackdaw (*Coloeus monedula*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-jackdaw  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 215 g – 246 g |
| Length | 34 cm – 39 cm |
| Wingspan | 65 cm |
| Lifespan | 14.5 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 20.3 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | human_modified |
| Egg incubation | 18 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 – 4.5 |
| Age at maturity | 20.9 months – 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Corvidae
- genus: Coloeus
- species: *Coloeus 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*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-jackdaw