Carrion Crow or Jackdaw?

These two get mixed up constantly. Here is what actually separates them, taken from each bird's own page.

Carrion Crow

Corvus corone

A jackdaw is much smaller, has a pale silver-grey nape and cheeks, a pale silver-white eye and a short neat bill. A carrion crow is all black including the eye, with a heavy bill.

A carrion crow is entirely black, including the head and eye, and is noticeably bigger and heavier with a thick, powerful bill. A jackdaw is smaller, has a pale silver-grey hood over the nape and cheeks, and a pale silver eye you can see across a garden.

Side by side

	Carrion Crow	Jackdaw
Size	About 47cm — bigger than a woodpigeon, and clearly larger and heavier than a jackdaw.	About 34cm — clearly smaller than a carrion crow or rook, roughly woodpigeon-sized but slimmer.
Where you'll see it	On lawns, playing fields, roof ridges and tall trees; commonly a single bird or a pair.	On chimneys, roof ridges and lawns, and dropping in on feeders and scraps.
What it eats	Anything — carrion, worms, insects, grain, fruit, eggs, nestlings, scraps and roadkill.	Omnivorous — insects, worms, seeds, grain, fruit, eggs, scraps and whatever a lawn or bin yields.
When	Resident all year, holding the same territory for years at a time.	Resident all year, most conspicuous in late winter when pairs start prospecting chimneys.
Status	Green listed	Green listed

Still not sure? Describe what you saw and we will rank every garden bird against it — including these two.

Both descriptions are taken from the species pages, which cite the BTO and RSPB. Reviewed 2026-09-20.