Teaching the peanut pirate

A fairly quick observation today... as a wildlife-friendly gardener, I put out bird-food, including peanuts for blue tits and other species. However, birds don't read the labels explaining which food is allocated to which group of species and hence piracy is rife - not that I might - they all have to eat... Anyhow, this morning, I couldn't help notice even more jackdaw (Corvus monedula) activity than usual - given the large jackdaw roosts near here, there's almost always some - in particular a group on our garden fence. Among the usual bickering and squabbling, there was a calmer group of three which appeared to be a pair of adults (black, glossy) with a fledged youngster (some pale feather edges, scruffy neck, less assured behaviour).

A probable family group of jackdaws using a peanut feeder

The adults were feeding - and ejecting other birds that tried to do so - while the youngster watched (or in the above photo got distracted by something off to the right...). In any case, the lesson seemed to work because a couple of minutes later, the adults were perched nearby and the youngster was feeding.

Young jackdaw feeding on peanuts

A simple behavioural observation, but interesting to see in action - so, before I get carried away by the urge to anthropomorphise, I'll stop there - there's much written about the adaptability and learning abilities of corvids, including in one of my early posts here. Enjoy!

A beady-eyed jackdaw in our garden