Jackdaw

Coloeus monedula

Common residents with 500,000 breeding pairs in Britain plus 2-8 million birds in Ireland.

Also breeds in mainland Europe & North West Africa.

Adults have a shiny black, with a purple (in subspecies monedula and spermologus) or blue.

The cheeks, nape and neck are light grey to greyish-silver, and the underparts are slate-grey.

The legs are black, as is the short stout bill.

Juveniles have duller and less demarcated plumage.

The head is a sooty black, sometimes with a faint greenish sheen and brown feather bases visible; the back and side of the neck are dark grey and the underparts greyish or sooty black.

The tail has narrower feathers and a greenish sheen.

The main call is a metallic and squeaky chyak-chyak or kak-kak.