[099] Corvus frugilegus, Rook

[099] Corvus frugilegus, Rook

Introduction

Corvus frugilegus, the Rook, is a large black bird in the Crow family, often seen in flocks foraging in agricultural areas.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Passeriformes

Family – Corvidae

Genus – Corvus

Scientific Name – Corvus frugilegus

Name

Rook comes through Old English by onomatopoeia from its call. Frugilegus means fruit gathering.

Description

There are several species of birds called crows and several called ravens but only one Rook. They are all black and very similar in size and appearance to [098] the Carrion Crow. Apart from a sometimes visible blue or purple sheen to their backs, the two clearest distinguishing features of Rooks are:

• A very distinctive white area between the eyes and the bill that makes the bill look larger.
• A ‘baggy trousers’ look to the feathers at the top of its legs.

You are unlikely to see juvenile Rooks. These two were both seen at Slimbridge in trees below a rookery.

They are very gregarious, rarely seen alone and nest communally in rookeries at the top of high trees. When they leave the rookery, they find a communal roosting site, usually in trees, sometimes accompanied by Jackdaws.

They are most commonly seen in a large group feeding in open fields, where they use their powerful beaks to probe the soil. The flock often includes a few Jackdaws. They feed on cereals, roots, fruit, insects and small invertebrates, small birds and occasionally carrion.

Habitat

Rooks are common and widespread over Europe and parts of Asia.

Other Notes

Here is another example of a bird surviving well by hopping around on one leg, as we saw in [026] Greylag. It was there for several months.

Rooks and Crows have not always been named distinctly. The expression ‘As the Crow flies,’ for a direct straight line, is more appropriate for Rooks. And scarecrows were put into fields to scare away the Rooks!

I sometimes see a single Rook scavenging at Motorway Services or at the Slimbridge WWT site. I am never sure whether they have left their flock or have been driven out.

See also

We have seen the Jackdaw and the Crow. Our other two members of the crow family look very different – [159] the Jay and [265] the Magpie.

[098] Corvus corone, Carrion Crow

[098] Corvus corone, Carrion Crow

Introduction

Corvus Corone, the Carrion Crow, is a large black passerine bird, which is common and widespread in England, Wales and Southern Scotland.

In England and Wales, it is usually just called a Crow. In Scotland the situation is made more complex by the presence of the Hooded Crow, a close relative.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Passeriformes

Family – Corvidae (Crows, including ravens, rooks, magpies, jays and others)

Subfamily – Corvinae (Includes all UK corvids, except Chough)

Genus – Corvus

Scientific Name – Corvus corone

Name

Crow comes through Middle English and German roots, probably onomatopoeic from its harsh call.

Corvus is the Latin for a raven and korone is Greek for the Crow.

Apart from the Rook, all the birds in the genus Corvus are called crows or ravens.

Corvids

The family Corvidae comes within the passerine order, Passeriformes, which the Americans call song birds. But they are big birds, often plain black, and they do not make tuneful sounds that could be called songs! They are general omnivorous scavengers.

There are just over a hundred species with worldwide distribution, all showing significant levels of intelligence.

Description

It is hard to say anything about the Crow other than, ‘It’s black,’ which is true of many birds in the Crow family. It has quite a large, chunky bill, which is typical of corvids. It differs from the Raven more or less just in size.

Crows are omnivores and the Carrion Crow has no more reason to be called ‘carrion’ than any other bird in the Crow family. They will eat grain, fruit, seeds, insects, small mammals and eggs of other birds.

They have been known to use their intelligence with snails and shellfish by dropping them on to the hard surfaces of roads.

Habitat and use

The Carrion Crow is native to most of Europe including England and Wales and parts of Scotland.

Other Notes

There is no real distinction between a crow and a raven, except that species called ravens are larger. Similarly, in England crows and rooks are sometimes confused. See tomorrow for Rooks.

In birding circles there is a saying that, ‘One Rook is a Crow; two Crows are Rooks,’ which means that any bird seen on its own is probably a Crow, but a group of birds are probably Rooks. This not always true. A pair of Crows may be seen together, sometimes more than two if they have young birds with them. But Crows are definitely not gregarious in the way that Rooks are.

Crows are among the few birds seen along seashores that are not sea birds.

See also

There is a bird called the Hooded Crow, found in Italy, the East of Europe and parts of Asia, which is almost identical to the Carrion Crow but has patchy black and grey colouring. Its range also includes the island of Ireland and the North of Scotland (where it is apparently called a hoodie.) There is a small border area where the ranges overlap and hybridization sometimes occurs. Until 2002 it was considered to be a subspecies Corvus corone cornix, but it has now reverted to species status as Corvus cornix.

The Raven, Corvus corax, is significantly larger than Corvus corone, but otherwise very similar. It does have a larger bill but its most easily recognizable feature is its call, a loud ‘kronk.’ It is one of the largest of the passerine birds. Its range in the UK tends to be restricted to mountainous or coastal areas and it is much less common than crows. They are found in the Forest of Dean.

[099] The Rook is coming tomorrow and we have already seen [088] the Jackdaw.

[088] Coloeus monedula, Jackdaw

[088] Coloeus monedula, Jackdaw

Introduction

Coloeus monedula, the Jackdaw, is a bird closely related to Crows and Rooks but somewhat smaller and more attractive looking. It’s one of my favourite birds.

There are technically two species of Jackdaw. This one is common and widespread over Europe and Western Asia, while the slightly more colourful Daurian Jackdaw, Coloeus dauricus, is found in Eastern China and adjacent countries. So Coloeus monedula is the Western Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Eurasian jackdaw – but we can call it the Jackdaw.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Animals

Phylum – Chordates

Class – Aves (Birds)

Order – Passeriformes (Perching Birds)

Family – Corvidae (Crow family)

Genus – Coloeus

Scientific Name – Coloeus monedula

Sometimes included in the Crow genus Corvus, the two Jackdaw species have been recently reassigned back to the separate genus Coloeus.

Name

It is sometimes said, incorrectly that the word Jackdaw comes from the call, which sounds like ‘chack,’ but it actually comes from the Old English name of these birds, which was just a daw. The addition of Jack to make Jack-daw, is used for other animals meaning ‘small’ as for the Jack Snipe.

Coloeus comes from the Ancient Greek name of the birds. Monedula comes from moneta, the Latin stem for money, from their tendency to pick up coins.

Description

We will see the Crow family in [098] Crow and [099] Rook. Many of them are all black. The Jackdaw is mostly black, sometimes with a blue or purple sheen, but the nape of the neck and the back of the head are a silver-grey colour, and the front is a darker grey. The eyes are almost white.

For a juvenile bird, the grey over the underside of the bird is much lighter and the eye is a light blue colour.

They can have the odd white bit and this bird seen at Slimbridge with its white feather stayed around for months.

They are omnivorous and will eat insects and small invertebrates, carrion, eggs and young chicks from other bird’s nests, grains, berries and seeds.

Habitat

Jackdaws are widespread and common over the UK. They are gregarious but remain monogamous and always keep close together in their pairs.

In the countryside, they are often seen in a group merged with a group of Rooks. They are generally less wary of human contact and more common in towns than Crows,

Despite their size they are attracted in places to birdfeeders. Like all the Crow family they are intelligent and will work out how to get at the food.

Other Notes

Jackdaws are much easier to find and photograph than others in the Crow family.

See also

Look out for Crows and Rooks.