- jackdaw
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/jak"daw'/, n.1. a glossy, black, European bird, Corvus monedula, of the crow family, that nests in towers, ruins, etc.2. See boat-tailed grackle.[1535-45; JACK1 + DAW]
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or dawCrowlike black bird (Corvus monedula) with gray nape and pearly eyes.About 13 in. (33 cm) long, jackdaws breed in colonies in treeholes and on cliffs and tall buildings; their flocks fly in formation around the site. Their cry sounds like their name: "chak." The species ranges from the British Isles to central Asia. See also crow, grackle.
Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)John Markham* * *
▪ birdalso called Daw(species Corvus monedula), crowlike black bird with gray nape and pearly eyes of the family Corvidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes). Jackdaws, which are 33 cm (13 inches) long, breed in colonies in tree holes, cliffs, and tall buildings: their flocks fly in formation around the site. They lay four to six light, greenish blue eggs that are spotted and blotched. The bird's cry sounds like its name: “chak.” The species ranges from the British Isles to central Asia; eastward it is replaced by the white-breasted, white-collared Daurian jackdaw (C. dauuricus).In the United States a species of grackle (q.v.) is sometimes called a jackdaw.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
