Rook

How to identify

Field marks

1. Adult has bare grayish-white skin at the base of the bill
2. Jet-black overall, with a blue-purple metallic gloss to the body feathers
3. Bare skin makes the bill look longer and the head more rounded and domed
4. Leg feathers shaggier than those of Carrion Crow

Male, female and young

The sexes have the same shape and coloration; juveniles lack bare skin at the base of the bill and have a finer bill than juvenile Carrion Crow, with the facial feathers falling out after about half a year.

Voice

Coarse, harsh croaking calls.

Similar species

Large-billed Crow

Rook lacks feathers at the base of the bill, exposing grayish-white skin; this is its main distinguishing feature from similar species in the same genus.

Carrion Crow

Rook has bare grayish-white skin at the base of the bill, shaggier leg feathers and longer, narrower wings in flight.

Where and when it's recorded

Rook has been recorded at 1,346 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 62 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. WWT Slimbridge Wetland CentreUnited Kingdom3,116 records
2. Amwell HMWT NRUnited Kingdom2,666 records
3. South Downs NP – Pulborough Brooks RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom2,486 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United KingdomIrelandSwedenGermanySerbiaPolandIsle of ManTürkiye

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The rook (Corvus frugilegus) is a member of the family Corvidae in the passerine order of birds. It is found in the Palearctic, its range extending from Scandinavia and western Europe to eastern Siberia. Rooks nest collectively in the tops of tall trees, often close to farms or villages; the groups of nests are known as rookeries.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

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