On the Wildside: Where have the rooks gone?

Local people have reported huge numbers as recently as the 1950s and 1960s, and I personally recall rookeries in the 1970s and 1980s.

Indeed, not far away, on the lane where I live now, we had small a rookery up to about 10 years ago. This is on the edge of Oakes Park, where in the 1960s they still held an annual rook shoot! Local youths would follow the shoot and collect up some of the birds to sell for the pot at about sixpence a pair.

At that time, carrion crows were still rather uncommon because they were actively ‘controlled’ (i.e., shot) by gamekeepers and park-keepers, and like magpies, they have increased dramatically in numbers. I have never witnessed antagonism, but I wonder if these two species compete, and the rook is losing out. They are birds of a very similar size and ecological niche but with significant differences.

Carrion crows are not colonial like rooks, and they are also very inquisitive and highly adaptable. Above all, they are very successful. Changed land-use may be a big factor as rooks do well on farmland with tillage and around towns and cities this has been pushed back by urbanisation – the ‘greying of the green’; perhaps the rook is an indicator species for such changes.

In recent years, we have only seen occasional, solitary rooks in Graves Park, but hundreds of carrion crows. Incidentally, these species are easy to tell apart as rooks have rather straight, almost triangular beaks with a bare, white patch at the base, and their leg feathers produce a ‘baggy trouser’ effect at the knee.

The carrion crow on the other hand, has feathers that come neatly and tightly in at the knee. Carrion crows are territorial breeders with a solitary nest whereas rooks famously are communal. Both species join big ‘corvid flocks’ in winter.

Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer & broadcaster on wildlife & environmental issues, is contactable on [email protected]; follow Ian’s blog (https://ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/) and Twitter @IanThewildside