Measuring 32–38 centimetres in length, the jackdaw is a black-plumaged bird with a grey nape and distinctive pale-grey irises.

Living in small groups with a complex social structure in farmland, open woodland, on coastal cliffs, and in urban setting.

An omnivorous and opportunistic feeder, it eats a wide variety of plant material and invertebrates, as well as food waste from urban areas. Jackdaws are monogamous and build simple nests of sticks in cavities in trees, cliffs, or buildings. About five pale blue or blue-green eggs with brown speckles are laid and incubated by the female. The young fledge in four to five weeks.