Jim Crow

aka Jack Daw.

Apparently calling Jackdaws Jim Crow came about as a result of a poem called the Jackdaw of Rheims published in 1837 :

At a banquet, while the cardinal is having his hands ceremoniously washed, his turquoise ring is stolen. Enraged, the cardinal puts a dreadful curse on the thief. To everybody's amazement, nobody present is affected by the curse, but a Jackdaw flutters down, emaciated, bald, dishevelled and lame. It leads them to its nest in the belfry where the ring is discovered. The cardinal is delighted at the return of his ring and lifts the curse and when some time later the Jackdaw dies, canonises him, giving him the name "Jim Crow".

Other interesting Jackdaw facts:

They are monogamous (unlike the Dunnock)

They can legally be trapped or hunted:

Jackdaws are one of a very small number of birds that it is legal to use as a decoy or to trap in a cage in the United Kingdom. The other pest species that can be controlled by trapping are the Crow, Jay, Magpie and Rook. An authorised person must comply with the requirements of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and does not need to show that the birds were a nuisance before trapping them. As of 2003 the Jackdaw was listed as a potential species for targeted hunting in the European Union Birds Directive, and hunting has been encouraged by German hunting associations. Permission to shoot Jackdaws in spring and summer exists in Cyprus as they are thought (incorrectly) to prey on gamebirds.

The sentence:
Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz contains all the letters of the alphabet.

It's a tough life. I think he looks rather fine and has a cheeky look in that beady eye.

alternative blip here