Corvus frugilegus
| Rook | |
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| On Dartmoor, Devon, England | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Corvus |
| Species: | C. frugilegus |
| Binomial name | |
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Corvus frugilegus Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| Rook range | |
The rook (Corvus frugilegus) is a member of the family Corvidae in the passerine order of birds. It was given its binomial name by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, The binomial is from Latin; Corvus is for "raven", and frugilegus is Latin for "fruit-gathering", from frux, frugis, "fruit", and legere, "to pick". The English name is ultimately derived from the bird's harsh call.
This species, at 45–47 cm in length, is similar in size to or slightly smaller than the carrion crow, with black feathers often showing a blue or bluish-purple sheen in bright sunlight. The feathers on the head, neck and shoulders are particularly dense and silky. The legs and feet are generally black and the bill grey-black.
Rooks are distinguished from similar members of the crow family by the bare grey-white skin around the base of the adult's bill in front of the eyes. The feathering around the legs also looks shaggier and laxer than the congeneric carrion crow. The juvenile is superficially more similar to the crow because it lacks the bare patch at the base of the bill, but it has a thinner bill and loses the facial feathers after about six months. Collective nouns for rooks include building, parliament, clamour and storytelling. Their colonial nesting behaviour gave rise to the term rookery.
Rooks are resident in Great Britain, Ireland and much of north and central Europe but vagrant to Iceland and parts of Scandinavia, where they typically live south of the 60th latitude and in habitats that ravens dislike, such as open agricultural areas. The rook also occurs as an eastern race in Asia where it differs in being slightly smaller on average, and having a somewhat more fully feathered face. In the north of its range the species has a tendency to move south during autumn though more southern populations are apt to range sporadically also. The species has been introduced to New Zealand, with several hundred birds being released there from 1862 to 1874. Although their range is very localised, the species is now regarded as an invasive pest and is the subject of active control. Even so, the ecological and economic impacts of rooks in New Zealand have not been well-studied.
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