A Corvid Cornucopia
- lfjedwards
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Back in August I spent a wonderful family holiday in stunning County Cork in the southwest of Ireland. I’ve been to Ireland before but never to this area and I would thoroughly recommend it. The beautiful beaches, dramatic coastline, the warm and friendly people and of course, if you are a fan like me, some of the finest Irish whiskey to be had.
It is also a top destination for wildlife, especially birdlife and one particularly bird that I kept on spotting was the Hooded Crow. Some of you may not be familiar with this species of crow as they are usually only seen in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the north and west of Scotland, where I had occasionally spotted them whilst holidaying there. I have also recently spent a few days in Galway city and have again had the pleasure of coming across this handsome bird.
The Hooded Crow is easily recognisable with its black head, wings and tail, with a grey back and underparts.
Like all members of the corvid family, the Hooded Crow is smart and full of character. I find corvids so entertaining, from their funny little struts to their inquisitive nature. They are birds of myth and legend, disliked by some due to them being rather partial to the young and eggs of other birds as a lunchtime snack but I’m more than happy to give them the praise they deserve.
Can you tell your corvids apart though? Some look similar in appearance but there are subtle differences with certain species and a couple of obvious stand out species too.
The most typical of what we would imagine a crow to look like is the Carrion Crow. These are large birds with glossy black plumage and a large, blunt black beak. Usually solitary or found in pairs these are a regular visitor in and around my garden and they are happy in the cities, coast or countryside. They are widespread across the UK with the exception of the north and west of Scotland and Ireland where the closely related Hooded Crow takes their place.
Everyone will recognise a Magpie won’t they? A bird of folklore and superstition with its long tail, black and white plumage and when seen close-up, its black plumage reveals a purplish-blue iridescent sheen to the wing feathers and a green gloss to the tail. Magpies are noisy, raucous birds and are known for their penchant for all things shiny, although a university study carried out some years ago dispelled this myth. The study concluded that the birds either ignored or avoided shiny and also blue objects and often fed less when these items were present.
Sadly, Magpies were persecuted in the past and even today, numbers are still controlled in some areas.
Now we come onto the Jackdaw, the smallest of our corvids with a distinctive grey hood around the back of the head and a black cap. A handsome looking bird with striking pale blue-grey eyes.
They are not shy of people and can often be seen in town and village centres amongst the pigeons looking for scraps.
Jackdaws make a lovely ‘chack chack’ sound and love nesting in old chimneys and holes in buildings. They are a common site where I live in West Yorkshire and I love seeing them noisily flock at the end of the day, busily catching up on the events of the day as they head home to roost.
Now, we come to the mighty Raven, king of the corvids and our largest crow with a huge chunky beak, all black and with shaggy feathers on its throat.
Ravens are predominantly birds of the mountains, upland areas and the coast. I often see them on my hikes in the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales soaring above me with their distinctive croaking call. Occasionally, a solidarity bird has kept me company on a mountain summit on a winter’s hike, truly delightful.
Ravens are a bird associated with myth, legend and sorcery. Who can’t forget the famous ravens at the Tower of London, the legend says if they leave the Tower the kingdom will fall. Reassuringly, the residents have their wings clipped!
Now, imagine a walk on an early spring day, passing a patch of mature trees in a remote rural setting or a stroll through an old village graveyard and you’ll be almost certain to hear the noisy chattering of rooks.
It’s one of the typical sounds of a British spring with rooks busying themselves with nest building and repair and enjoying a good old natter with a neighbour.
Rooks are extremely sociable and nest, roost and feed together all year. It’s a wonderful sight when you come across a busy rookery with its many large, messy nests up high with the birds busy tooing and froing, bringing twigs for their nests.
Rooks can be easily identified by the distinctive patch of grey skin at the base of their beak.
Sadly, rooks are amber listed on the BTO’s UK Birds of Conservation Concern list, with numbers declining over the last 20 years or so, possibly due to loss of habitat and changes in agricultural practices.
You will probably hear a Jay rather than spotting one, as unlike other corvids, they are quite a shy woodland bird, preferring the cover of trees and have a loud, harsh screeching call.
Unusually for a corvid, Jays are a colourful bird with pale pink plumage, a black tail and white rump. It has a pale crown with black streaks, black and white wings with the addition of striking electric-blue feathers, a real stunner!
Jays are particularly active at this time of year as they have a real taste for acorns. They have a habit of caching them away in the ground, which they will retrieve at a later time when food is scarce, well that’s the plan anyway. Many oak trees grow as a result of acorns that have not been retrieved and jays can store over 5,000 acorns and often several kilometres away from where they were collected.
Our final corvid is the Chough, a crow that favours our coastal habitats. Although Choughs look typical corvid-like, they are very distinctive with long red beaks and red legs. You are most likely to see them in south-west Scotland, the Isle of Man, the west coasts of Wales and Ireland, and in parts of Cornwall, which is the one and only time I’ve encountered them. They were performing their magnificent swooping aerial displays around the old ruined tin mine workings at St. Just.
Choughs, although green listed, have a limited range and are quite scarce. There are only around 250-350 pairs in Great Britain and 120-150 pairs on the Isle of Man.
On a more positive note, this summer, a young Chough has successfully fledged from a wild nest at Dover Castle. This amazing milestone comes just three years after the launch of a reintroduction programme, led by a number of organisations, including the National Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust. A small number of captive bred birds were released into the wild and appear to be doing well. The aim is to restore these once common birds in that particular area to the skies once again.
So there you have it, hopefully an interesting overview of our native corvids. I hope, if you don’t already, view these birds with excitement and admiration. They are truly special birds, intelligent, handsome and so full of character. We are truly blessed to share our planet with these wonderful birds
I would like to dedicate this blog to my wonderful friend Richard, who loves crows and is suffering a great loss today. My thoughts and love are with him and his family today.
Wonderful and informative piece about corvids. I have always been aware of these birds and loved seeing crows and magpies particularly around my house! A lovely tribute at the end.
A very useful and interesting blog about our corvids. Being surrounded by open country my garden hosts rooks, jackdaws, magpies and jays which can lead to a lot of squabbling! Good to see your blog back.