The rook on the ‘Welcome to Rooksbridge’ sign isn’t very, well, rooky. Its beak is too big and too black and more like that of a carrion crow. It’s an understandable error: the two species – closely related members of the corvid family – are easily confused. With a good view, a rook can be recognised by the bare, bone-coloured patch at the base of its thin, pointed bill and by the scruffy feathers at the tops of its legs that suggest it’s wearing baggy shorts.
But what of black birds seen from afar – are they crows or rooks? There’s a country saying that can help: “A crow in a crowd is a rook, a rook on its own is a crow.” And this adage usually holds true: the carrion…
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2022