About Coloeus dauuricus (Pallas, 1776)
The Daurian jackdaw, scientifically named Coloeus dauuricus (Pallas, 1776), measures around 32 cm (13 in) long. It is roughly the same size as or slightly smaller than the western jackdaw, sharing the same body proportions and habits. The main difference between the two species is in plumage: many adult Daurian jackdaws have large creamy white areas on their lower body, which extend up around the neck to form a broad collar. Their head, throat, wings, and tail are glossy black, and their ear coverts are grizzled grey. Darker adult Daurian jackdaws and young birds look similar to western jackdaws, but Daurian jackdaws have black irises, unlike the distinctive grey-white irises of the Eurasian jackdaw. The only other pied corvid species that lives in the same region is the Chinese collared crow (Corvus torquatus), but this species is much larger (about the same size as or slightly larger than the carrion crow), so confusion between the two is unlikely. The Daurian jackdaw's distribution extends from southern eastern Siberia, south to Mongolia, and across much of China. Individuals in the northern part of its range migrate further south during winter. It is a scarce winter visitor to Korea, a rare annual winter visitor to Japan, a vagrant to Taiwan, and there are a small number of records from Western Europe. It inhabits open woodland, river valleys, and open hills and mountains.
