222 A DESCRIPTION OF 
THE JACKDAW. ( Corvus monedula ) 
THIS bird is much less than the crow. He has a large 
head and long bill, in proportion to the size of his body. 
The colour of the plumage is black, but on some parts in- 
clining to a bluish hue ; the fore part of the head is of a 
deeper black. The Jackdaw feeds upon nuts, fruits, 
seeds, and insects ; and builds in ancient castles, towers, 
cliffs, and ail desolate and ruinous places. The female 
lays five or six eggs, smaller, paler, and marked with 
fewer spots than those of the crow. 
Jackdaws are easily tamed, and may with little diffi- 
culty be taught to pronounce several words. They con- 
ceal such parts of their food as they cannot eat, and often, 
along with it, small pieces of money or toys, frequently 
occasioning, for the moment, suspicions of theft in per- 
sons who are innocent. In Switzerland there is found a 
variety of the Jackdaw which has a white ring round its 
neck. In Norway, and other cold countries, they have 
been seen entirely white. In a state of nature, Jackdaws 
and rooks frequently feed together, and the Jackdaws 
come to meet the rooks in the morning, and also accom- 
pany them for some distance on their retreat at night. 
