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Jackdaw


Jackdaw
Photo Information
Copyright: Paul van Slooten (pvs) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1127 W: 254 N: 3161] (14464)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-02-01
Categories: Birds
Camera: Sony Alfa dSLR A700, Sony 70-200 F2.8 G, Digital RAW 400, UV Filter
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/200 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Pentaxfriend's favorites [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-02-03 3:50
Viewed: 17457
Points: 36
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Once again a capture from a regular visitor and winterguest,the jackdaw,made in skansen,was sitting on a tree and could approach quite close to him,the light was maybe not the best,and needed ISO 400,handheld capture with 200 mm lense,hope you like it,tfw

The Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw or European Jackdaw, is one of the smallest species (34–39 cm in length) in the genus of crows and ravens.

Most of the plumage is black or greyish black except for the cheeks, nape and neck, which are light grey to greyish silver. The iris of adults is greyish white or silvery white, the only member of the genus outside of the Australasian region to have this feature. The iris of juvenile jackdaws is light blue. The bird is sociable, moving around in pairs (male and female) or in larger groups, though the pairs of birds stay together within the flocks.

Jackdaws are found over a large area stretching from North West Africa through virtually all of Europe, Iran, north-west India and Siberia, where they inhabit wooded steppes, woodland, cultivated land, pasture, coastal cliffs and villages and towns.

The jackdaw mostly takes food from the ground but does take some food in trees. It eats insects and other invertebrates, weed seeds and grain, scraps of human food in towns, stranded fish on the shore, and will more readily take food from bird tables than other Corvus species.

Jackdaws usually nest in colonies in cavities of trees, cliffs or ruined and sometimes inhabited buildings, usually in chimneys, and even in dense conifers. Eggs, normally 4-5, are incubated for 17-18 days and fledge after 30-35 days.

The voice is a "tchak-tchak" or "kak-kak" call.

Konrad Lorenz studied the complex social interactions that occur in groups of jackdaws and published his detailed observations of their social behaviour in his book King Solomon's Ring. To study jackdaws, Lorenz put coloured rings on the legs of the jackdaws that lived around his house in Altenberg, Austria for identification, and he caged them in the winter because of their annual migration away from Austria. His book describes his observations on jackdaws' hierarchical group structure, in which the higher-ranking birds are dominant over lower ranked birds. The book also records his observations on jackdaws' strong male–female bonding; he noted that each bird of a pair both have about the same rank in the hierarchy, and that a low-ranked female jackdaw rocketed up the jackdaw social ladder when she became the mate of a high-ranking male.

Jackdaws have been observed sharing food and objects. The active giving of food is rare in primates, and in birds is found mainly in the context of parental care and courtship. Jackdaws show much higher levels of active giving than documented for chimpanzees. The function of this behaviour is not fully understood, although it has been found to be compatible with hypotheses of mutualism, reciprocity and harassment avoidance.

In some cultures, a jackdaw on the roof is said to predict a new arrival; alternatively, a jackdaw settling on the roof of a house is an omen of death and coming across one is considered a bad omen.

In The Pearls of Lutra, Ninian's Church is infested with jackdaws, and some kill a young mousemaid named Piknim.

In "Someplace to be Flying", by Charles de Lint, one of the main animal-people characters, Jack, is a jackdaw. His character is the 'story-teller' of the animal-people and is depicted as compassionate, sharing and influential. All of these characters are observed in the actual habits of jackdaws.

In Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore (1878), beginning the song "Things Are Seldom What They Seem" the character Buttercup sings, "Things are seldom what they seem, Skim milk masquerades as cream; Highlows pass as patent leathers; Jackdaws strut in peacock's feathers."

In the fifth stanza of Edward Lear's The Jumblies, the Jumblies "...bought a pig, and some green jackdaws, and a lovely monkey with lollipop paws".

In Shakespeare's Othello "But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at..."
nglen, kjpweb, Adanac, Islander_, uleko, Alex99, NinaM, Pentaxfriend, angela926, Luis52, CeltickRanger has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

It's a beautiful capture with lots of detail! What a great pose and look in its eye! Well done! Penny

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2883 W: 30 N: 9683] (36145)
  • [2008-02-03 5:13]

Hi Paul. Black is not always an easy colour to ger right but you have done well. good detail and colours.with a nice POV/DOF. well done TFS. good notes too.
Nick...

Very intriguing portrait! Looks as if she ordered the portrait and posed for you! Fine detail and light! Kudos! Cheers, Klaus

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1273 W: 1 N: 6188] (21378)
  • [2008-02-03 5:43]

Hello Paul,
You have captured superb details in the black plumage which I find hard to do. The whole image is sharp and well composed, then along with the great notes makes up a wonderful posting. Thank you Paul.
Rick

Well done on this monochromatic bird. Good exposure

Hi Paul,

Perfect exposition for a black bird, everythig else is also very good - composition, POV, sharp details. Nice shot! Thanks,

Eugene

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3396 W: 172 N: 3310] (10940)
  • [2008-02-03 6:47]

Hello Paul,
I've been after this species today as they're beginning to pair up and are so cute when you see them two and two everywhere here. Excellent close capture with fine sharp details and nice focus on the pretty eye. Lovely shiny feathers and a fine contrasting background too. Well done!
Many thanks, Ulla

Hallo Paul,
Bijzondere vogels om te observeren. Slim en onvoorspelbaar in mijn ervaring:-)
Goeie compo. Staat er trots op...
Groeten,
Annick

  • Great 
  • rdfoto Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 372 W: 0 N: 719] (3295)
  • [2008-02-03 10:23]

Bonjour Paul
Très beau portrait, couleurs, netteté et lumière, très belle attitude du sujet. Bravo
Amicalement Robi

Still me Paul,
wonderfull and impressive capture of this Jackdaw
wonderfull sharpness, great focus and lovely composition
cheer,
friendly,
Pat

  • Great 
  • Alex99 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4072 W: 133 N: 7096] (23735)
  • [2008-02-03 11:52]

Hi Paul.
Amazing picture of so difficult for shooting bird. I like excellent exposure and reproduction of all colour tones of the bird and terrific sharpness. Pictured scene is excellent. The dry branch (or trunk) is very impressive and BG is simply amazing. Bravo. Excellent job of perfect photographer equipped with high-end devices.
Alexei.

Ha Paul,

Perfect shot van deze kauw
Scherpte, POV, DOF, compo, details en kleur zijn SUPER

TFS Thijs

Hello Paul,
Very beautiful shot, Good composition and pov, excellent sharpness and very good shallow depth of field, lovely colors and tones, excellent details and textures.well done!
Angela

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1175 W: 8 N: 4240] (15809)
  • [2008-02-03 20:42]

Hola Paul.
Me agrada mucho esta bella foto. Gran calidad en la imagen. Exelente nitidez y muy buena iluminacion. La pose muy bella tambien.
Saludos
Luis52.

Nice close-up shot of the bird, like the sharpness of the image , good details captured, natural colour tones.
Best wishes,
Achim

  • Great 
  • NinaM Gold Star Critiquer [C: 773 W: 3 N: 1157] (4077)
  • [2008-02-04 16:03]

Hi Paul, wonderful picture here of a nice bird. It is simple yet very perfect, with the blurred lighted background, the dark bird against it making the exposure more difficult, the branch. This is well composed and delightful to look at. Your gallery is impressive and superb, Thank you,

Francine

hello Paul

this is a superb shot, i'll start with that wonderful white and
greyed background, then a excellent DOF, excellent sharpness
and details of the plumage, a lovelly pose, if is like this Jackdaw
has a little smile on this image, and to finish i love very much
the POV from down to up of your image, in french they say
to this POV « angle en contre-plongé », TFS

Asbed

  • Great 
  • jesst Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 368 W: 0 N: 172] (2441)
  • [2008-02-07 10:35]

Great capture! Perfect exposure, wonderful sharpness, nice composition

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