Many stories and fables have featured the Jackdaw and it's specific behavior. But in the nonfictional world, it is a remarkably intelligent creature which has a relatively large brain, comparable in proportion to body size as that of the chimpanzee, which has one of the largest brains in proportion to body size outside of the human species. The Jackdaw is highly social - for instance, it congregates into large flocks in winter and often forages in groups. It takes cues from kin and peers about the location of food and engages in complex food-sharing behavior, which often is reciprocal, with individuals taking turns as donors and recipients.
The Jackdaw's intelligence and curiosity, however, perpetuate the bird's tendency to get into trouble. One of its more infamous doings was documented in 1989–90 in England and South Wales, where it had been photographed in the act of removing the caps and drinking from milk bottles delivered to peoples' homes. People who drank the remaining milk fell ill with bacterial infections. Researchers isolated the organisms from pecked milk bottles and traced them back to Jackdaws and Magpies (a close relative of the Jackdaw), implicating the birds as the source of the outbreak.
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