WIGMAN AB (2002) Jackdaw breeding in rabbit burrows. LIMOSA 75 (2): 51-52.

Originally published in Orgaan der Club van Nederlandsche Vogelkundigen 5: 18-21, 1932

This paper describes a colony of Western Jackdaw breeding in rabbit burrows. In the 1930s, this was considered a new phenomenon in the Netherlands, although such colonies were reported from several sites after this paper was published. The colony described here, was situated in a grazed area at the Veluwe (Central Netherlands) and was attended by about 25 breeding pairs. It was argued that lack of suitable nesting sites in trees triggered Western Jackdaw to use rabbit burrows instead. Due to an increase of Western Jackdaw in woodland, most suitable nest sites in areas like the Veluwe had already been occupied and therefore birds were faced with a high level of competition for nesting sites.

[free pdf] [dutch summary]