Rooks and ravens are often confused due to their similar appearance. Only a few ornithologists and observant adults are able to immediately say what kind of bird they see in front of them.

Rooks distributed within a temperate climate throughout Eurasia. The Rook species belongs to the genus Raven of the Corvidae family.

The animals have a compact body, the dimensions of which do not exceed 47 cm from head to tip of tail. Color – black, with a characteristic blue-violet tint. The base of the beak of an adult bird is bare. Color: dirty gray or brown. They feed on everything, but prefer insect larvae and ringworms. During the cold period, rooks have to eat grain and food waste abandoned by people.

Rook

Birds live closely together, in numerous colonies, and are drawn to large agricultural areas and populated areas. There are species that lead a sedentary lifestyle - in the south of Europe. There are those that regularly change their location - migratory rooks, painted by the artist Savrasov.

Migrating rooks appear in northern Eurasia at a time when the snow cover begins to melt. They build nests using any suitable material. The female lays from 3 to 7 eggs, from which chicks appear after 20 days. After a month, the animals “take wing.” In June, little rooks begin to explore the world around them under the supervision of their parents.

Rooks are intelligent. Using a beak instead of hands, they are able to manipulate simple objects to achieve your own goals. Interesting, but Medieval Europe poor townspeople killed birds for meat. An old German dish is known - rook meat, salted in a barrel.

Crow belongs to the Crow Family of the Corvidae family. Animals are distributed within subtropical, temperate and subarctic climates North America and Eurasia.

The bird's size makes it the leader of the Order Passeriformes, which includes 5,400 species of birds. The body length reaches 65 cm, with males traditionally larger than females. The maximum wingspan is recorded, which is 150 cm and the weight is 1560 grams.

The color of the bird is black, with a special blue-green tint, or white-piebald. Crows have become legendary - albinos with a dirty white color. The beak of all birds is black. A peculiarity of the flight is the similarity of the raven’s movements with the low-level flight of birds of prey, and not with representatives of their own family of Corvids. There are legends about birds being three hundred years old, but in captivity crows lived only to 69 years of age.

Crow

Crows adapt well to any living conditions, but in lately they prefer to settle near populated areas, in landfills, slaughterhouses, beaches or zoos, stealing food from the animals living there. They migrate only in case of danger to life.

Crows eat everything, but they give particular preference to carrion, which is why they have earned the reputation of “orderlies.” They do not disdain small rodents, fish, eggs of other birds and chafers.

At 2 years old, the birds form a pair, which ideally will last a lifetime. The family builds 2 nests, which they use alternately for many decades. The female lays 3 to 7 eggs, and after 21 days, helpless chicks hatch from them. After a month and a half they “take wing”, but enough for a long time stay close to their parents.

Animal psychologists compare the intelligence of a crow with the thinking abilities of primates. High communication and level of understanding between relatives, the use of the beak as hands, patience and proven insights have given the birds the glory of the smartest birds.

If you are reading this article, you will also be interested in reading about the difference between the species of crow and the species of black crow, which are often confused with each other.

Conclusions website

If the appearance and body shape of the birds are similar, then the sizes are different: crows are the largest birds in the order, rooks have a smaller size and body weight.
The only external difference between birds is their beak. The raven's is black, the rook's is gray-brown.
The life range of ravens is wider than that of rooks.
Crows are only sedentary birds. There are rooks, both migratory and sedentary.
The lifespan of a raven is much longer than that of a rook.
Crows have more developed intelligence than rooks.
Crows have a greater ability to imitate the sounds of the human voice.
Crows prefer carrion, rooks prefer larvae and worms.
The flight of a raven resembles the flight of a bird of prey. Rooks fly like typical corvids.
Rooks became famous only thanks to Savrasov’s painting “The Rooks Have Arrived,” and crows have long been the heroes of hundreds of legends, songs, fairy tales and myths, and are considered symbols of wisdom and longevity.

One of the most famous bird families is the raven, or corvid. Birds from this family are very similar to each other. In addition, they have a developed mind in common. Common features of birds from the corvid family:

The color of the plumage is strict, usually dark gray or black
The physique of these birds is proportional
These birds have a large beak that allows them to pick up various objects

Crow: a smart and unpleasant bird

Distinctive feature these birds are dirty gray in the hooded crow or black in black crow – plumage color. When walking, the crow makes characteristic head nods. This bird is very careful, and if it sees danger, it takes off after a short run. The crow's voice is very unpleasant: it is harsh, and, in addition, very arrogant.

Crows often gather in large flocks, and then many-voiced cawing is heard. These birds often stage daring predatory raids on both fields and vegetable gardens. Another unpleasant feature of the crow is that it often visits other people’s nests, stealing laid eggs.

Crows often appear on the banks of rivers and other bodies of water where waterfowl, such as wild geese and ducks, live. Hunters consider crows to be harmful birds, as they destroy the nests of game birds, stealing eggs and even chicks.

In the city, the crow often stays near human habitation or in landfills to feed on household garbage. These birds also steal nuts, cardboard cartons of milk, and stale bread. The crow places the nuts in the shell on the road, where it will be crushed by a car. Stale bread falls into a puddle, becomes soggy, and can be eaten.

The crow begins to build nests in the spring. These birds are unpretentious in choosing nesting sites: not only a tree, but also a crane and a power line support will do. Crows nesting on high-voltage poles is fraught with danger big troubles for the birds themselves and interruptions in the electricity supply. Therefore, such unwanted nesting is prevented by installing special metal balls.

Crows – great parents . If a chick has fallen out of the nest and a person, dog or cat approaches it, the crows raise loud noise, attract the attention of their relatives, and then attack the enemy en masse. During an attack, birds try to attack from the rear, hit the offender on the head with their beaks, or try to peck out the enemy’s eyes. Crows have a good memory: they will remember the offender “by sight”, and if the enemy catches the crows’ eyes, a racket will begin.

It is believed that the croaking of a crow is a harbinger of misfortune, which is why the expression “caw” appeared, that is, to invite trouble. In addition, there is a folk sign: if a crow croaks, it means that there will be bad weather soon.

Rook: feathered harbinger of spring

The rook is a close relative of the crow. Their similarities are noticeable, but there are serious differences, especially when it comes to the fame these birds have gained. The crow has a bad reputation, but the rook has long been respected. It was a migratory bird in the central regions of Russia: it flew away in the fall and arrived in early spring. There are many signs associated with the departure and arrival of rooks. For example, it was believed that if the rook flew away, winter would soon come. When the rooks arrived and settled in their former nests, they said that spring had come, and in three weeks they could begin sowing.

Old rooks have a special feature - the skin around the beak is devoid of feathers. It is this sign that distinguishes him from the black crow. Another sign is the voice. The rook has a “corr”, the crow has a croak.

Rooks arrive in early spring, when the snow has not yet melted, and begin building a nest. The construction is completed when the snow melts, and the chicks hatch from the eggs just when sowing begins in the fields.

Rooks fly to arable land, where they look for earthworms and insects. The birds are not at all disturbed by the noise of operating agricultural machinery; they calmly walk behind a tractor with a plow or harrow. When plowing with a plow or harrowing, it gets onto the surface of the earth. large number wintering harmful insects in the form of larvae and pupae, and the rook pecks its prey.

The benefits of rook for grain and beet fields cannot be overestimated. For wheat and other grains, a pest such as the pest bug is especially dangerous. The most dangerous pest of sugar beets is the beet weevil. Rooks do not allow these harmful insects to reproduce uncontrollably. These birds also hunt harmful beetles (their larvae are harmful) - May beetles and marbled, or June, beetles.

It is precisely because the rook obtains food by digging into the ground with its beak that the feathers near the beak gradually fall out. The result is a so-called “naked face”.

In spring, the rook benefits the fields by destroying harmful insects and their larvae. But at the same time, you can expect trouble from this bird: it is capable of pulling sown seeds of cultivated plants out of the ground. In summer, the rook causes the most trouble: it is precisely at this time that plant foods occupy the largest place in the rook’s diet. Birds visit corn plantations, pecking grains from the cobs, and also visit melon fields. Rooks extract seeds from ripening melons and watermelons, damaging them with their powerful beaks.

Like other birds from the corvid family, rooks live in colonies. A distinctive feature of rooks is that they feed not near the nest, but collect food over a large area. Rooks bring food to chicks less often than sparrows or tits.

One of the unique “calling cards” of the rook is the prelingual cavity of the beak. Gathering food - insects like beetles, turtle bugs, or plant foods like corn kernels, rooks fill the prelingual cavity. Why, when flying to the nest, does the bird manage not to accidentally swallow food? It turns out that when the cavity of the beak is filled, the tongue rises and prevents food from entering the esophagus. Thanks to this, the rooks bring food to the nest and treat the chicks.

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Did you know What is the difference between a rook and a crow?

At first glance, these birds are difficult to distinguish from each other. Especially if they are high up in the trees.

But still, perhaps because our winters have always been long and cold, the rook in Russia has always been surrounded by an aura of benevolence and sympathy. The rook, like the starling, is everyone's favorite, the herald of spring.

The crow has always been disliked, to put it mildly. Even the signs about the raven and the rook are different among the people. They say about a crow: a crow caws - there will be trouble. But about rooks they say something completely different: “If the rooks leave their nests, there will be trouble.” However, such a “halo” of sympathy for rooks exists not only in Russia.

An ancient belief in Kent says that if rooks leave their nests, then the family they nested next to will have no heir. Cosimo de' Medici also testifies to the English love for rooks. When the future Grand Duke of Tuscany visited England during the reign of Charles II, he noticed that the subject of special concern of the English nobles were rooks, which they lured to their estates and protected them there in every possible way, because they considered the rook “a bird that gives good omens. No one is allowed kill them on pain of severe punishment."

However, both rooks and crows can be said to be from the same family. They are representatives of a huge order of passerines, a family of corvids (raven) birds. In addition to the rook and crow, the corvid family includes:

magpie

jackdaw

jay

nutcracker

Kuksha

chough

crow

It also exists in the family of corvids and the crow.

Did you know that the raven and the crow- this is not a husband and wife, that is, not a female and a male of the same species, but different types birds?

In addition, there are two types of crow: gray and black.

The black crow is entirely black:

The hooded crow is a two-color bird:

The hooded crow's head, throat and "tie" on the chest, wings, legs and tail are black, everything else is gray. Some ornithologists classify the gray and black crows as different species. Others consider the hooded crow and the carrion crow to be subspecies of the same corvid species. Given the facts, the second opinion is most likely closer to the truth. But the facts are that in places where gray and black crows live together, they often interbreed, producing fertile offspring. Hybrids are dark gray in color with black heads, wings, legs and tail.

Unfortunately, people are prejudiced towards crows and do not suspect that they are one of the most “intelligent” birds with the most complex and highest level of higher nervous activity. They are not inferior in their development to dolphins and monkeys. " Who does not recognize the intelligence of animals, let the crow watch longer", wrote Alfred Bram. The same can be said about the rook.

The rook differs from both the raven and the crow in many respects: size, weight, shade of black plumage. But from afar and at first glance this may not be noticed. It is necessary to know the exact parameters of the structure of his body.

Did you know distinctive rook characteristics?

Rooks, although very similar to carrion crows, are distinguished by a slender, straight and pointed beak, the length of which is at least 54 mm. and no longer than 63 mm. The rook differs from the crow by a different wing shape, the length of which is from 280 to 340 mm, and the width of the wing is 113.16% of the length of the body. The rook's tail is 128% of the body length. The weight of the rook is from 400 to 540 grams, the flight muscles are powerful and make up 18.5% of the body weight, and the weight of the large rook heart is almost 12% (11.95%) of the body weight. Such highly developed muscles and the large weight of the heart indicate excellent adaptability for fast flight and long flights, which the rook makes every day while feeding its chicks. But the main feature of the rook, which distinguishes it from the crow and which cannot be ignored, since it itself catches the eye, is its “naked face.”

Did you know What is a "white beak"?

The trouble is that the rook did not always rummage through city dumps and garbage dumps in search of food.

The rook was a constant companion of the plowman, and later of the tractor driver. As soon as the plow began to loosen the soil after a long winter hibernation, the rook immediately began its work. He deftly snatched larvae, bugs, spiders, worms and other bugs and bugs from the ground. From constant picking in the ground, the rook developed a “white beak”. This immediately distinguishes him from the black crow.

In fact, to be precise, it is not the rook’s beak that turns white, but the constant friction of the beak on the ground that strips the facial parts of their feathers. Light skin on these parts and around the base of the beak and gives the characteristic appearance of a “naked face” with a “white beak” to the old rook. Young rooks do not yet have a “white beak”. Therefore, it is very difficult to distinguish a young rook from a black crow at first glance. Thus, “picking” in the ground and getting insects for food is the main purpose of the rook.

The essence of the rook is the treatment of arable land from pests; rooks are irreplaceable orderlies of grain fields. Main benefit The benefit that these birds bring is not that they can destroy all pests. The whole point is that rooks cannot do this. They will never destroy all pests. The main benefit of rooks is that they prevent the uncontrolled reproduction of harmful insects and keep their numbers within limits that are not dangerous for the field or garden.

Did you know, what is a turtle bug?

The turtle bug is a very harmful insect and a terrible enemy of winter grain crops. If on one square meter If only 4-5 of these turtles are found in winter crops, then the harvest is doomed and you don’t have to harvest it. Did you know that rooks can completely clear a field of these unsightly “turtles”? And not only...

A flock of rooks, walking importantly across the field and following the tractor plow, fishes out from the torn up fresh soil an immense mass of June beetle larvae, or beet weevils, or wireworms. Naturalists, examining the stomachs of dead rooks, found 133 harmful beet weevils in one of them, and more than 500 wireworms in the other. And it was far from complete daily ration the rook himself! And if the rook had not died, how many more would he have destroyed such bugs, sowing goat, May beetle, dung beetles, crab beetles, weevils and centipedes, ground beetles and ground beetles, shield beetles, lamellar beetles, spiders and red ants, and earthworms to feed the chicks ?

Did you know How do rooks feed their chicks?

It is estimated that during the period of feeding chicks, the rook uses about 60 species of insects. But in search of food, rooks fly long distances from the nesting site, especially since they fly very quickly. Rooks, unlike many passerines, do not feed in the immediate vicinity of the nest. Each colony of rooks occupies some common territory for feeding, the size of which depends on the number of birds in the colony and on the amount of food on its territory. Therefore, the distance of the rook’s daily flight from the nest to the feeding site can vary from 4 to 16 km, and sometimes up to 20 km. This means that rooks bring food to their chicks less often than, for example, tits, which fly up to 400 times per day to the nest with food for the chicks, or sparrows, which fly up to the nest up to 300 times per daylight hours. Scattering far across freshly plowed fields, rooks cannot return to their chicks with every bug or May beetle.

So what does the rook do? Very simple! The rook uses the "gifts of nature." The fact is that nature has endowed this intelligent bird with a special beak design, and the rook uses this “gift” very skillfully. 2/3 of the space of the rook's oral cavity is a specially designed prelingual cavity. When it is filled with food, the bottom of the rook's mouth gradually and strongly sags and something like a goiter is formed. But the rook is not a dove, and it does not have a crop, but has a temporary formation, as if severe bloating under the beak. It would seem that with this method of transporting food there is a risk of swallowing it and not bringing it to the nest! But this risk is also foreseen: the rook’s tongue, when filling the prelingual cavity with food, is pulled back towards the larynx. The entire rook tongue, from the very base to the keratinized and forward-curved tip, rises vertically in the mouth, blocking the entrance to the esophagus. Thus, the rook carefully brings food to the nest and with its tongue, like a piston, pushes the contents of the prelingual cavity piece by piece into the open beaks of its chicks in turn - first to the first, then to the second, etc.

The diet of adult rooks is practically no different from the food of chicks. Parent rooks feed their young rooks what they themselves eat. The food of adults and chicks is dominated by various invertebrates, mainly harmful species. These are “animal foods”, among them insects and primarily beetles predominate - more than 37 species of beetles make up 55% daily diet rook. Of all the harmful insects, including beetles, eaten daily by the rook - 78.7%.

Plant food plays a lesser role for rooks, but sometimes, especially during sowing of corn, which is the best delicacy for rooks, black masses of excited rooks fly into the sown fields, and for these birds what is called a “feast of the soul” ensues, a real bacchanalia! Sometimes these beneficial eaters of harmful beetles destroyed up to a third of corn plantings. What people have come up with to deceive the cunning rooks. But the rooks bypassed all the traps in a very clever way. Using the same prelingual cavity. The fact is that people, knowing the addiction of rooks to corn, when planting, sprayed its seeds with some strong-smelling and very unpleasant-tasting composition in order to scare away the birds. But that was not the case! The rooks, wandering around the field, filled their famous prelingual cavities with delicacy to capacity, flew to the nearest reservoir or river and, having collected water in their prelingual cavities, rinsed what the corn was sprayed with, and then happily ate it and treated their chicks.

Did you know anything about the rook's intelligence?

In fact, all ravens are very smart, resourceful birds that are easy to train. They are very easy to train, literally. And the rook does not stand out among other corvids for the worse. One of necessary conditions for learning is observation. Not all people have this quality, but rooks have this quality to the fullest.

On the other hand, the living conditions of rooks are constantly changing, since the life of a rook is directly and tightly connected with human activities, both rural and urban. Recently, they have increasingly had to settle in cities, as the cultivated areas, that is, the main places where rooks obtain food, are shrinking. The boundaries of cities, on the contrary, are expanding, occupying with new buildings the former fields on which many flocks of rooks fed. Rooks have to adapt to city life, and smart birds adapt.

Observation and intelligence play important roles in the adaptation process. Rooks have learned to soak dried bread in puddles or fountains, and to extract milk and butter remaining on wrappers and in bags. Having pulled the bag out of the trash container, the rook drills a hole in it up to 4-5 cm in diameter and cleans the inside of the bag through it. Rooks collect paper from ice cream, sweet cheeses or butter and even manage to feed this to their chicks.

As soon as at least one of the birds appears with a new type of food, all the others follow in its “footsteps”. In the literature about rooks, there is a described observation of how a rook with a dry thing in its beak flies up to its flock and demonstrates its find. The find was carefully and in detail studied, evaluated, and the birds were removed from the nests one by one. After some time they returned with similar prey in their beaks. It turned out that somewhere near the bakery, a bag of dried goods had been torn open during unloading.

An interesting story is described from the words of a driver who was delivering dairy products to stores. One day he brought milk to the store and began unloading the boxes. Next to the store there grew a luxurious plane tree, on which two rooks were sitting. The driver didn’t notice them at first, but one of the rooks quietly “said” to the other: “kra-kra.” The driver looked at the birds with curiosity and thought: “How beautiful, mischievous people!” He took the box of milk to the store, and when he returned for the next one, he saw that one of the rooks had grabbed a half-kilogram bag of milk and was happily flying away...

Such risky, frankly speaking, reckless behavior of the rook shows that these smart birds can analyze the situation well and correctly calculate their actions. Moreover, rooks can accumulate practical experience, remembering and distinguishing specific dangerous person, for example with a gun, from non-dangerous. They recognize a dangerous person even without a gun. No matter how he is dressed, no amount of dressing up or disguise will help. Rooks recognize a person who once frightened them in any clothing. In case of danger, rooks give each other alarm signals. Moreover, the degree of reaction to such signals varies from person to person. Animal behaviorists have found that the calls of a higher-ranking rook, especially an experienced, respected male, attract more attention from flock members than the calls of a young bird. If a young and inexperienced rook emits a danger signal, frightened by some trifle, other birds pay almost no attention to it. But if an old, experienced rook makes the same cry, all the birds immediately take off. It is estimated that rooks can make up to 120 different sounds that have a signaling nature and convey emotional and mental state- anxiety, joy from communication or joy when finding food (these are two different joys), etc.

Adaptation of rooks to new conditions changed by humans occurs very quickly and immediately spreads to the entire population of rooks. This indicates the leading role of acquired behavioral traits in the formation of a new behavioral stereotype for the entire species. If the solution found is useful, it is fixed as a population stereotype of behavior and becomes a reflex. For example, rooks have developed a conditioned reflex to the noise of a tractor - as soon as these smart birds hear the characteristic knock of the engine, they instantly flock from all sides, no matter how far from the field they are.

In a word, rooks train themselves: by trial and error, they search for and find a solution that is adequate to the changed and new environmental conditions for the birds. In general, rooks, like all corvids, are capable of not only simply examining objects and phenomena, but also drawing appropriate conclusions from their observations. And this is already a manifestation of rational activity, with its inherent analysis, synthesis and experiment. And this new thing, found by one rook or rook, becomes the property of the entire population, spreading among other birds by imitation, and for young birds by training. Rooks constantly look closely at each other, often copying each other, acting on the principle “do as I do.”

Did you know How is the life of a rook related to human life?

Here is one example. More than two hundred years ago, when the steppes of the foothills of the Caucasus were virgin, unplowed virgin lands, they were inhabited by masses of steppe birds. Steppe eagles, larks, bustards, and cranes were the eternal inhabitants of the open steppe spaces of what is now Stavropol. At that time, birds of the corvid family did not live in those places - no jackdaws, no crows, no magpies. Rooks did not live there either. But as the Caucasus was conquered and developed and fortresses with regular military garrisons were founded there, other parallel processes took place. The fortresses grew and became cities, around which the virgin steppes were actively developed and plowed open. TO end of the 19th century centuries, the raised virgin lands produced unprecedented grain harvests, but fewer and fewer birds of open landscapes or campophiles remained there, but more and more corvid birds - rooks, crows, magpies, jackdaws - began to be observed taking root in these man-developed, cultivated places. By the beginning of the 20th century, half of the lands of what is now the Stavropol region were plowed, and by the middle of the 20th century, 75% of the lands were already plowed. According to the reduction of virgin steppes, the number of their inhabitants, free steppe birds, also decreased. And the fewer campophiles remained, the more corvids in general and rooks in particular became around humans. Without humans, these birds do not exist in nature. Like most colonial birds, rooks are unusually attached to nesting sites. They do not like large, dense forests and have never settled in them, having long preferred proximity to humans. A dozen poplars or maples, a few willows on the shore of a pond or Savrasov birches in a green courtyard, a linden alley in the old park - that’s all their community needed. Forest shelterbelts stretched along railways and highways and across fields. The rook powers were firmly established in them. Not only trees are suitable for nests, but also openwork metal supports and trusses from which overhead wires were suspended.

Did you know, what are synanthropes, urbophiles and urbophobes?

According to the degree of “attachment” of birds to human life, they can be divided into three groups: synanthropic birds, urbophile birds and urbophobic birds.

The first group is synanthropic birds. The word "synanthropus" comes from two Greek words: "syn" = together and "anthropos" = man. That is, synanthropic species are those species that exist “together with humans.” Not only birds, but also many animals are called synanthropic (in cities - house mice and gray rats, in villages - weasels that catch harmful rodents, hamsters, shrews, voles, bats), plants and even microorganisms, whose life is connected with humans and depends on humans. Of course, even if you deprive pigeons or house sparrows of human support, these typical synanthropic birds that live and feed near humans all year round, they will still adapt and survive. Moreover, urban gray crows, for example, or the heroes of our story - rooks. They lead a completely independent lifestyle. And many ornithologists even consider them not synanthropic species, unlike pigeons or sparrows, but rather urbophiles.

But this is a controversial issue, and scientists have not yet come to clear boundaries delineating the concepts of “synanthropus” and “urbophile”. There are birds that only settle near people, and get food for themselves, without changing their eternal tastes and without looking in the trash in the trash, like hooded crows or rooks, for tasty scraps from the human table - such are swallows and swifts, which feed exclusively on insects. These include starlings, wagtails (white and yellow), tits, nuthatches, finches and some other birds. Some ornithologists consider these birds synanthropic, while others classify them as urbophiles.

Urbophiles are the second group of urban birds. The word "urbophil" comes from two words: the Latin "urba" = city and the Greek "phil" = to love. That is, urbophiles are “city lovers”. These are species that themselves, without human help, master the city and do not retreat from changing conditions, but adapt to them.

The third group of birds are urbophobes. The word "urbophobe" is organized in the same way as the previous one, urbophile, but with the difference that the second half of the word comes from the Greek "phob" = to hate. That is, urban-phobes are “city-haters.” These birds live in the city, but they are essentially not urban, and exist in the city only insofar as the city encroaching on their former habitat has left them islands of their former nature - interspersed with their characteristic biotopes: remnants of forests, wooded park strips, meadows with shrubs etc.

The hooded crow and the jay, for example, are unanimously considered to be typical urbophiles, and the magpie, the cuckoo and the nutcracker are considered urbophobes. Regarding the rook, opinions in the scientific world are divided. Some consider the rook to be a synanthropic species, others - an urbophile, a third point of view: the rook is a transitional type between urbophiles and urbophobes.

There are species of birds for which the city turned out to be a place of salvation. Their number in the city has become significantly higher than outside it. These birds include, first of all, the rock pigeon, turtle dove, swift, blackbird, house sparrow, hooded crow, and also, in winter, rooks.

Did you know that the rook ceases to be a migratory bird?

IN middle lane In Russia, the rook has always been a migratory bird. The rooks usually flew away in October. They migrated to the southwest. Gathering in huge flocks. They migrated to Turkmenistan, the Caucasus and beyond. Countless flocks of these birds flew along the Black Sea coast of Transcaucasia, stretching for kilometers, feeding in corn fields. The rook did not nest in Transcaucasia, but appeared, for example, in the vicinity of Batumi in October and remained there until the end of April. But the main masses of rooks moved further south - to Africa, Afghanistan and India. The Nile Valley, although abundant in food, could not often accommodate all the arriving rooks. They had to fly further, across the Sahara, where they sometimes died in the thousands. In some oases, where palm trees surround the springs, rooks have been observed stopping for the night. The next morning they were found dead from hunger, lying next to each other in the number of several hundred.

The appearance of rooks after a long winter was joyfully celebrated by everyone as the beginning of spring. IN folk calendar Nature even had a special day on which it was believed that rooks returned from the southern regions. This day, the day of Gerasim the Rookie, folk signs, fell on March 17th. In the old days, there were even many proverbs and signs linking together the appearance of the rook and the onset of spring: “The rook pecked the winter”, “The rook on the mountain - so spring is in the yard”, “I saw the rook - welcome spring”, “Gerasim the Rookman of the rook in Rus'” leads", "If the rooks have settled in the nests, then in three weeks you can go out to sow", "If the rooks fly straight to the old nests, there will be a friendly spring: the hollow water will run away all at once."

But recently it has been believed that only in the northern part of Russia rooks are migratory birds, and in the southern part they are sedentary. Is this true?

It all started in 1958. It was then that not in the north of Russia, but in the Black Earth Region, the first wintering rooks were noted as an event. After 12 years, single rooks were already seen in the night gatherings of Moscow crows. Nowadays, in Moscow, Saratov, Ryazan, and other cities of the Volga and Non-Black Earth regions, whole flocks of rooks have become habitual winter inhabitants. They are no longer numbered in hundreds, but in thousands.

Kazan is also far from the northern part of Russia, the very heart of the Volga region. But the rook has always existed there as a non-sedentary creature. In Kazan, the rook has always been a migratory bird and a harbinger of spring. In 2002, there, in Kazan, a ten-year sentence was fixed atypical phenomenon, when, due to warming, rooks do not fly to warmer climes, remaining in the city for the winter. And they feel quite comfortable, as in Sevastopol, where rooks have also always been considered migratory birds, but recently they have been wintering there too.

Lipetsk is not the northern part of Russia. The rook has always been considered a migratory bird there. The study of wintering birds in Lipetsk was carried out for 6 years from 1998 to 2003. Over six winter seasons, 2 winter and 14 Christmas counts were organized under the “Eurasian Christmas Bird Counts” program. The surveys took place on a permanent route with a length of 3 km on the territory of the 12th residential microdistrict, built up with multi-storey buildings.

A total of 48 km were covered. Species of wintering birds were identified not only along the route, but also during winter excursions around the city. Ornithological studies have shown that 22 species of birds from 9 families of 3 orders of the bird class winter in the city: the rook wintering in Lipetsk is also recorded annually.

In Yaroslavl, more and more rooks remain for the winter every year. In Magnitogorsk, a flock of thousands of corvid birds has been wintering in the city for a considerable period of time - more than 30 years. Its basis is the jackdaw. To a lesser extent hoodie. In different years, rooks also spend the winter there. The number of wintering rooks is from 2 to 3 thousand. In Chelyabinsk in 2000, a trend was noted when many species of birds, including wild mallard ducks, jackdaws and even white swan stayed to spend the winter in Chelyabinsk. The rook is among the above birds.

Little by little, rooks become sedentary birds in the northern regions of Russia. For about thirty years now, the border of their wintering grounds has been continuously moving in the direction of the spring migration, to the northeast, and the rate of expansion of the wintering area is quite significant.

In Moscow and Moscow region recent years rooks began to stay for the winter in large numbers. But still, Moscow is not Arkhangelsk, located near the Arctic Circle, and in 2002, flocks of wintering rooks were noted there too. The abundance of food allows them to endure long polar nights with thirty-degree frost quite tolerably. In truth, it should be noted that the plumage of rooks is much lighter than that of crows and is less suitable for such cold weather. Therefore, in the morning, having left their roosting place, the chilled birds sit for a long time in the trees, exposing their backs, which have turned gray during the night, to the rays of the stingy northern sun. The effect of gray hair is created by frost, which freezes overnight on the black rooks from bird breath.

The growing sedentism of rooks is dictated, first of all, by climate change and global warming processes. Also, the growing food supply, which is increasing due to the growth of cities and, as a consequence, an increase in the number of garbage dumps, plays a significant role in the growing subsidence of rooks. But sometimes it seems that the conservatism of the rook plays an important role in the process of settling. Rooks have such a strong attachment to the places chosen by the first settlers that they still live there. Cities are expanding, growing, houses are becoming higher and higher and block the horizon, the ground is covered with asphalt or tiles, and in order to feed the chicks, the current inhabitants of urban rookeries have to fly not to abandoned fields, but to city garbage dumps. But still the rooks do not fly away from the city. In many nests, the first twigs have long since decayed into dust, and the nests that are completed every year become heavier, breaking off tree branches. Two, three or more nests can be built so close to each other that they seem like one building from below, and the rooks sitting in them on clutches of eggs can reach each other with their beaks. Sparrows like to settle in the cracks between neighboring nests for greater safety.

The settling of rooks in their homeland and their active adaptation to city life, willy-nilly, raises the question of regulating the number of corvids in cities. Now the city's wildlife is being planned and reconstructed by experts from the most various professions: landscape architects, dendrologists, civil engineers, and each - at his own discretion, when basically, in principle, the issue of maintaining and developing wildlife in the city is not taken into account, as costly and ineffective. This often leads to such critical situations as the “crow question”. The emergence of such a question is fraught with such consequences for corvids and rooks as in Germany, where there are only 12 thousand rooks left, and they are listed in the Red Book...

Ekaterina Dashkova

Read in the section:
E. Dashkova. Lemmings.

The rook bird is a member of the raven family. to his appearance and is similar in size to a crow, which is why some people confuse the two. However, the rook has some distinctive features: firstly, it is much slimmer, and secondly, an adult bird has a ring of unfeathered bare skin around its beak. Young individuals do not have such a rim.

These birds live in Europe and Asia. In the northern regions they inhabit Ireland, Great Britain and the eastern regions of Scandinavia. This species is also common in the western regions of China, Japan, Far East, in Asia Minor and Central Asia, as well as in the European part of Russia.

Back in the 19th century, rooks were brought to New Zealand. But due to food shortages, there are very few rooks there today. In the southern regions, representatives of these birds lead a sedentary lifestyle, northerners are considered migratory birds, since in winter period migrate south.

weight 400-700 g;
tail length 19 cm;
body length 49 cm;
wingspan 97 cm.

The rook has black plumage with a metallic sheen. Males are no different in color from females.

Reproduction and lifespan

Birds appear in nesting areas in the spring (April). The male and female make nests together in the treetops. At the same time entire colonies of birds are formed, whose nests are located nearby. Construction material serves everything that can be found on the ground (leaves, twigs, various debris, branches, etc.).

Rooks are conservative in their preferences and build nests in the same place for many years. The same applies to the formation of unions: these birds create pairs for life.

Most often, rooks build nests from branches, and they do this according to all the rules of construction: the lower layer consists of thick branches tightly connected to each other, the upper layer is made of thinner branches. The tray is lined with scraps of wool, rags, sponge, and soft grass.

A rook's nest, unlike a crow's, is much deeper and more spacious. The size of a rook colony can vary from several nests to tens or even hundreds of nests in each settlement.

Most often, birds establish a colony on old birch trees, willows nearby settlement or right in it, in birch groves, linden parks and gardens, sometimes on forest edges located not far from the field. Nests are built at a height of 16-20 meters near the main trunk or on the fork of thick branches.

The clutch usually contains from three to six eggs, green-gray with brown speckles. The incubation period lasts 16-20 days. While the female is sitting in the nest, the male gets food for her. The chicks are born naked, completely helpless and need protection, nutrition and warmth. In the first days, the female does not leave the chicks and warms them with her warmth. All care for feeding the family rests with the male. As soon as the babies have fluff, the mother also leaves the nest and gets food together with her partner. The departure of the young from the nest occurs a month after birth, approximately in mid-June.

Social behavior of rooks

Rooks behave very interestingly in nature. Forming large colonies, they often organize meetings and they love to talk a lot. Another of their entertainment is the game of catch, in which birds chase each other in order to take away an object. They also love to swing on tree branches and pass various objects to their neighbors. In the spring, males stage demonstration performances, performing aerobatic maneuvers. This is done in order to hit the female.

You can often see couples sitting side by side and cooing tenderly, while fluffing their tails. Moreover, this behavior is typical for all birds of this species, regardless of gender.

Nutrition

Since rooks are omnivores, they have no special food requirements. In early spring, arriving at its permanent place residence, birds feed on grain residues, last year’s plant seeds, and find various beetles and insects. With the beginning of sowing, rooks gather in arable fields in search of earthworms. Moreover, the birds are not at all afraid of the roar of agricultural machinery and they collect prey, walking right behind the tractor or plow.

During the flight of May beetles, rooks collect these pests from the leaves of aspen and birch trees. In summer, most of the food consists of sunflower seeds, peas, and corn, and only a small percentage of the birds’ diet consists of amphibians, worms, mollusks and insects.

Rooks bring great benefits by eating small rodents, as well as by destroying insects such as beetles, wireworms, beet weevils, turtle bugs, the cockchafer and its larvae, etc.). But besides the benefits, rooks can also cause harm. For example, they peck sown seeds of agricultural crops from the ground and damage melons and watermelons during their ripening period. There is nothing good in the fact that birds destroy earthworms, break tree branches and stain foliage in gardens and parks with their droppings.

Intelligence

This species of birds in its own way mental abilities equal to monkeys and by right considered very smart. Rooks widely use the means available to them to achieve any of their goals. For example, if a bird cannot reach food with its beak, it can bend the wire and pick up the tasty morsel with it. Sticks are used for the same purpose. Similar experiments were carried out in laboratory conditions and in almost all simulated situations, the birds showed intelligence and resourcefulness.

Interesting facts

Of course, rooks bring a lot of benefits to people, but it is still worth regulating their numbers, otherwise our crops will be left not only without pests, but also without a harvest.

Classification

View: rook

Family: corvids

Squad: passerines

Class: birds

Type: chordates

Subtype: vertebrates

Dimensions: body length approximately 45-50 cm; weight – from 300 to 500 g.

Lifespan: on average 3.5 years

Rook is very beautiful, stately and smart bird. It fits in size . In the northern regions, the bird leads a migratory lifestyle, so its appearance has long been associated with the onset of spring warmth.

It is this phenomenon that is depicted in the famous painting by Savrasov. If you look carefully at the photo of the bird, you will see slight differences from the crow, and not only in coloring. But let's go into more detail.

The photo clearly shows the main features of a rook: a large beak without feathers at the base, “panties” of feathers on the legs, black coloring with a metallic sheen.

Habitat

The rook is a free bird, but prefers to live in colonies, which greatly distinguishes it from many other related species. Distributed everywhere, including among, but behaves differently in different parts of Eurasia.

In warmer climates (southern regions), the rook remains to spend the winter, and therefore becomes a common bird, settling close to humans and occurring all year round.

It's another matter if he settles closer to the north. In these parts, the black beauty is forced, like and, to fly away for the winter, so they meet him only in warm weather.

Interesting. Latin name species Corvus frugilegus, translated as “raven collecting food.” It appeared due to the fact that the bird, like the bird, loves to walk through fresh arable land, pecking at various insects.

By the way, thanks to this particular habit, the rook is considered an excellent assistant to farmers: a flock is capable of dealing with a huge number of May beetle larvae, one of the most dangerous pests, in a matter of minutes.

If we talk about Russia, then the spring messenger can be found in the forest and forest-steppe zones, in their southern parts, all the way from the western border to Primorye.

The rook also lives in other areas, but not in large numbers. In the world, its range has spread to Europe and most of Eurasia. But in South and Central Asia you will not see the bird.

As mentioned above, this is a very intelligent species. In summer he prefers to nest in forests, but in winter he goes into the city to feed. Often unites in huge, noisy flocks with crows and jackdaws.

A flock of rooks along with jackdaws

Characteristic

Already from the photo of the bird it is clear that it is very similar to the most ordinary crow, but has some differences. Indeed, the rook is more graceful, thinner, although approximately the same in size. More inclined to live in packs.

Interesting! Many scientists compare the rook to chimpanzees in terms of intelligence. It is noteworthy that this bird just as willingly uses primitive tools to obtain food in other situations, just like the named species of primates.

He prefers to live in colonies, and always tries to settle closer to agricultural land.

You can often see a picture near the arable land: a separately located strip of trees and numerous nests on them. Such colonies are called “rookies”.

Being near them is quite problematic: the birds are noisy, and their “conversations” are very similar to the familiar croaking.

Nature itself allows individuals of this species to live for about two decades, but in harsh reality this rarely happens.

Rook chick, still without the whitishness around the beak characteristic of an adult

Appearance

And yet, what does a rook look like? The bird is characterized by:

Absolutely black (the same “raven”) plumage with a classic metallic tint;
Powerful, large beak, slightly curved downwards and no feathering at its base;
Dapper "panties", formed from elongated feathers at the top of the legs;
Clawed, long paws.

Genital distinctive features no, but the young individual can be identified. It does not have the characteristic whitish tint at the base of its beak.

Interesting! The rook is very similar to the carrion crow, although in fact they are different species. It is easy to distinguish them: the black crow has feathers around its beak and there is no whitishness in this part of the body.

Rook preparing for a meal

Main Features

Before you is a handsome rook. His silhouette attracts the eye with its harmonious body proportions and combative appearance. Long legs, powerful beak, slender outline.

Now that you know what a rook looks like, it will never be confused even with a black crow, although the species are very similar to each other.

By the beak of the rook it is very easy to distinguish from its closest “relatives” the crows

The bird has several interesting features and unusual habits.

Firstly, you can always distinguish representatives of urban clusters from their rural relatives.

The latter, although not afraid of humans, prefer to live more separately, do not settle in close proximity to housing, creating their own separate rookery.

Individuals living in big cities or even megacities. Sometimes it seems that they take people for granted.

They build nests on human buildings; they are especially fond of power lines and tall, most often industrial buildings.

Although the rook prefers animal food, feeding mainly on larvae and worms, it does not refuse plant matter.

Recently, they, along with crows, can be found near garbage cans. By the way, it is with the increase in food waste that the migration of these birds from forests closer to human habitation is associated.

Scientists also believe that this same circumstance led to the transition of many flocks to sedentary lifestyle life even in those regions where rooks were previously migratory.

Interesting! It was said above that many individuals die at the age of 3.5-4 years. However, in Great Britain there was an individual who lived until he was almost 23 years old. The rook chick was ringed at an early age, but it was found dead when it was quite old.

By themselves, these birds are very cunning, intelligent, and quick-witted. Like all corvids, they are good mockingbirds. But intelligence manifests itself in other behavioral features.

Rooks often show enviable ingenuity, using improvised means to solve immediate problems (sticks or small stones to dig up the ground if they cannot do this with their beak).

A pair of rooks resting after a flight

Nutrition

In fact, the rook’s diet consists of the following “dishes”:

Small (and not very small) invertebrates, such as worms or larvae, a special delicacy is the cockchafer;
Mouse-like rodents like voles or;
Cereal grains;
Various fruits and seeds of vegetables, berries, fruits;
Food waste.

Chicks can feed on their own starting from one month old, after they fly out of the nest. However, they are often fed by their parents for about another 3-4 weeks.

Then the bird finally becomes an adult and, together with the others, wanders through fields, forests, and parks.

Behavior, reproduction

Describing the behavior of a rook is not an easy task. This is a rather multifaceted bird that can amaze with its surprisingly accurate, correct reactions.

She is very active, inquisitive, and understanding. Rooks are able to remember a situation, a place, and build some semblance of logical chains.

That is why they used to be quite often kept at home and even trained. But more on that below.

The breeding season for rooks begins when the snow is actively melting, most often in mid-to-late March. In general, birds arrive to nesting grounds already in February, when the sun begins to warm up.

But this applies only to the southern borders of their range; in the central part, the construction of a home for themselves and future chicks occurs closer to April.

Rooks live in colonies; moreover, they can return to the place where they were born for more than one year to reproduce.

The nests are large, noticeable, up to 65 cm in diameter, 25 to 70 cm in height. Both males and females are equally actively involved in construction.

The outer layer is usually made of branches, the inner layer is made of various soft materials, from last year’s dried grass and leaves to tow, fluff, cotton wool, etc.

Rooks' nest, which can be seen from afar

Interesting. Rooks can use the same nest for several years in a row. Moreover, they will never confuse whether this is their home or not.

Every year the building grows, and, in the end, becomes a multi-tiered, complex structure.

There is only one masonry, but very in rare cases a couple can hatch chicks twice during the summer. As a rule, the female lays from 3 to 6 enough large eggs(about 30mm in diameter).

The color of the shell can vary from greenish-blue to blue with brown spots. The rook chick is born after about 3 weeks, it is absolutely helpless and completely naked.

The female warms the babies with her warmth for a long time, and during this period only the male feeds the entire family. When the chicks begin to fledge, they are fed by both father and mother.

They leave the nest at the age of 30 days, but the rook chicks become independent later. They are fed by both parents for another 3 weeks.

The rook egg reaches 3 mm in diameter

Birds of this species are very caring parents, and both adults occupy an equally important place in raising their offspring.

Subsequently, many chicks return to the place where they were born to continue their family. But some also fly to other areas, gathering in new colonies.

Rook eggs in the nest

Relationships with people

Surprisingly, such an interesting and quite close to man bird is very for a long time remained not fully studied.

The fact is that previously the rook led a more secretive life, preferring to stay away from human habitation.

Now many individuals are not at all afraid of people, existing side by side with us. And this provides many opportunities for close study and observation.

Despite its increasing proximity to human habitation, the rook is still more often found in rural settlements than in large cities.

This is explained by his special love for a freshly plowed field, where you can enjoy plenty of insects dug up into the light. This bird is not afraid of humans and treats them calmly.

Since black beauties are very smart, they can be kept as pets. With the right approach, you can teach how to talk.

Moreover, the vocabulary will be quite extensive. However, it is important to consider some content rules:

The rook is very quickly and easily tamed, so do not be afraid of contact with your pet;
This is a flocking bird, it needs constant communication and attention;
It will not be possible to maintain a house due to large size animalism and love of freedom. Many experienced breeders recommend a spacious enclosure, preferably outdoors;
Observe correct mode feeding, make sure there is always fresh and clean water.

With proper care, the rook may well become good friend, with whom you can even “have a heart-to-heart talk.” But still, this is a free bird, and it is better to observe it in nature, and not to put it, even in a golden cage, but still.

Interesting! Residents of Germany and Ukraine, who belonged to the so-called “poor stratum of the population,” ate rook meat. This dish was widespread until the endXIX century.

Having seen a bird at least once, one cannot help but feel interest in it, a desire to touch its way of life with at least one hand. And this is possible, you just need to watch carefully.

Rook: The bird that brings spring on its wings

The rook is a bird that many have heard of, but few have seen, and even fewer know its habits and way of life. A slender, graceful harbinger of spring, a relative of the crow, but different in habits.