Jackdaw’s place in the pecking order

On The ground, by a park bench, there lay a discarded chunky yellow ball of cheesy puff. A curious jackdaw, spotting an easy snack, flew down for a closer look. he bashed it a couple of times with his sturdy beak, attempting to chisel off smaller, edible pieces. But it was dried out and hard. Further pecking proved equally unsuccessful and it was too large to swallow whole. Frustrated, he stood there, beady eyes glinting, trying to work out how to deal with this problem. Jackdaws are well known for their intelligence and this bright bird put his brain into gear, and came up with a simple solution. Beside him was a large puddle; he nudged the cheese ball into the water and prodded it around. After a short time it softened and, uttering gurgles of pleasure, he eagerly began picking bits off. A large herring gull, perched on a nearby fence, had been watching with great interest. As the jackdaw proceeded to enjoy his treat, the gull seized the moment, swooped down, grabbed the now soft yellow ball and, with a triumphant squawk, flew away. herring gull 1, jackdaw 0.

Elizabeth Wright, Eastbourne, East sussex.