Eurasian Jackdaws (Corvus monedula) are very hard to find in India. I’m pretty sure that I heard one in the Kashmir valley, but I managed to photograph one only in Kazakhstan. This photo is from the shores of Sorbulak lake outside Almaty. Kashmir is at the southern edge of its range. It is largely a northern bird, found across Europe and into Asia north of Tibet, even as far east as Mongolia. In Mongolia the range of C. monedula overlaps with that of Daurian jackdaws (C. dauuricus). I enjoyed watching this smallest member of the crow family. It is a very social bird, and many of them flew around together, taking off, circling a part of the lake and coming back in a bunch to land. Apparently it pair bonds for many years, perhaps for life. Their behaviour looked as complex as that of the house crows (C. splendens) which I’ve seen. I hope to run into jackdaws again somewhere. I’m slowly working my way through the corvids of the world. Will I get to watch them all?
There aren’t many places on WordPress where bird watchers can share posts. If you post any photos of birds this week (starting today and up to next Monday), it would be great if you could leave a link in the comments, or a pingback, for others to follow. You don’t have to post a recent photo, nor do you have to post a photo of the same bird as mine, but do use the tag “Bird of the Week” to help others find your post. For more information see the main landing page for this invitation.
Don't hold your breath 