Jackdaws are two species of bird in the genus Coloeus closely related to, but generally smaller than, crows and ravens (Corvus). They have a blackish crown, wings, and tail, with the rest of their plumage paler.[2] The word ColoeusisNeo-Latin, from the Ancient Greek for jackdaws: koloiós (κολοιός).[3][4] They come from Asia, Europe, Africa and Siberia.
The species are the western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula), which breeds in Europe, northern Asia and Northern Africa, and its eastern counterpart, the Daurian jackdaw (Coloeus dauuricus), found from China and eastern SiberiatoJapan.[2] The eastern species is smaller than the western jackdaw, and in eastern adults, the pale areas of the plumage are almost white, whereas in the western bird, these areas are pale grey. The iris is pale in western jackdaw and dark in Daurian jackdaw. The two species are otherwise very similar in shape, calls, and behaviour. There is an argument for lumping the subgenus members as one species, but they do not interbreed where their ranges meet in Mongolia.[2]
^Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Anderton, John C. (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Lynx Edicions. ISBN978-84-87334-67-2.
^Gill, F.; Donsker, D. (eds.). "Vireos, Crows & Allies". IOC World Bird List (version 2.8). Archived from the original on September 17, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
