Rook
Corvus frugilegus Linnaeus, 1758
The rook (Corvus frugilegus) is a bird in the family Corvidae and order Passeriformes, grouped with songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 452 g, with values from 418 g to 489 g reported by our sources, and a wingspan of 93 cm.
Quick facts about the rook
The rook is a terrestrial, sedentary omnivore of grassland habitat, with a geographic range of 19,020,000 km². It lays 4 eggs per clutch with one clutch per year and an incubation period of 17 days, and the IUCN Red List classifies it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 418 g – 489 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 93 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 19.9 years – 22.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 17 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.7 – 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 18 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the rook?
Photos of the rook
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the rook live?
Not recorded
What is the rook?
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. It is a large, gregarious, black-feathered bird, distinguished from similar species by the whitish featherless area on the face. Rooks nest collectively in the tops of tall trees, often close to farms or villages; the groups of nests are known as rookeries.
Rooks are mainly resident birds, but the northernmost populations may migrate southwards to avoid the harshest winter conditions. The birds form flocks in winter, often in the company of other Corvus species or jackdaws. They return to their rookeries, and breeding takes place in spring. They forage on arable land and pasture, probing the ground with their strong bills and feeding largely on grubs and soil-based invertebrates, but they also consume cereals and other plant material. Historically, farmers have accused the birds of damaging their crops and have made efforts to drive them away or kill them. Like other corvids, they are intelligent birds with complex behavioural traits and an ability to solve simple problems.
From the Wikipedia article “Rook (bird)” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rook_%28bird%29&oldid=1381724066), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the rook sound like?
Is the rook endangered?
The rook is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the rook classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCorvidae
- genusCorvus
- SpeciesCorvus frugilegus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Corone frugilega, Corvus frugilegus tschusii, Corvus gregalis, Corvus gymnorynchus, Corvus nudirostris, Corvus nudirostris, Trypanocorax frugilegus, Trypanocorax frugilegus ultimus, Trypanocorax pastinator centralis
Other names and names in other languages (114)
- GrapAlbanian
- HrōcOld English
- غداف شائعArabic
- غراب القيظArabic
- GrallaAragonese
- GrayaAsturian
- choya carablancaAsturian
- ЦӀумагъедуAvaric
- ЦIумагъедуAvaric
- ZağcaAzerbaijani
- Ҡара ҡарғаBashkir
- ГракBelarusian
- Посевна вранаBulgarian
- Frav duBreton
- graulaCatalan
- Q́igChechen
- ШимкаракMari
- КуракChuvash
- Хура куракChuvash
- havran polníCzech
- KrëczkKashubian
- ydfranWelsh
- YdfrainWelsh
- RågeDanish
- SaatkräheGerman
- KawkaLower Sorbian
- ΧαβαρόνιGreek
- FrugilegoEsperanto
- kampa korvoEsperanto
- GrajaSpanish
- GrajoSpanish
- künnivaresEstonian
- Ipar-beleBasque
- کلاغ سیاهPersian
- mustavarisFinnish
- FelliskrákaFaroese
- Corbeau freuxFrench
- RukNorthern Frisian
- CorneteFriulian
- RúcachIrish
- ròcaisScottish Gaelic
- CreumhachScottish Gaelic
- ròcaiseanScottish Gaelic
- Gralla grandeGalician
- TroghManx
- עורב מזרעHebrew
- vetési varjúHungarian
- ՍերմնաքաղArmenian
- ЧовкаIngush
- BláhrafnIcelandic
- Corvo comuneItalian
- ミヤマガラスJapanese
- ჭილყვავიGeorgian
- КъуанщӀэKabardian
- ТағанKazakh
- 떼까마귀Korean
- ЧаукаKarachay-Balkar
- NuakkuKarelian
- Qirika reşKurdish
- Bran-dreCornish
- ЧаркаргаKyrgyz
- HierschtkuebLuxembourgish
- КраъакLezghian
- paprastasis kovasLithuanian
- KovasLithuanian
- Tukšnesa krauklisLatgalian
- krauķisLatvian
- шемгоракMari
- полска вранаMacedonian
- KorvuMaltese
- ТурлиахMongolian
- ГрацьErzya
- Dáʼákʼehtah gáagiiNavajo
- roekDutch
- kornkråkeNorwegian
- Caûvettenrm
- СаухалонOssetic
- CorbioePicard
- gawron (zwyczajny)Polish
- GawronPolish
- CornajassPiedmontese
- کاروس فروگیلیگسWestern Panjabi
- سيلاني کارغهPashto
- gralha-calvaPortuguese
- Corv champesterRomansh
- Cioară de semănăturăRomanian
- ГрачRussian
- Грач западныйRussian
- Өрт турааҕаYakut
- CruvacchiuSicilian
- ReukScots
- BealdovuorašNorthern Sami
- bealdogarjaNorthern Sami
- čáhppesgarjáNorthern Sami
- čáhppesvuoražasNorthern Sami
- havran čiernySlovak
- poljska vranaSlovenian
- Korbi sqepbardhëAlbanian
- GačacSerbian
- ГачацSerbian
- Гачац - GačacSerbian
- råkaSwedish
- ரூக்Tamil
- Кара каргаTatar
- อีกาโคนปากขาวThai
- ekin kargasıTurkish
- ГайворонUkrainian
- KarnišVeps
- Quạ đen mũi trọcVietnamese
- Ptit coirbåWalloon
- 秃鼻乌鸦Chinese
- 禿鼻鴉Chinese
- 禿鼻鴉〔禿鼻烏鴉〕Chinese
- 禿鼻烏鴉Zhuang
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the rook
Other species in the same genus Corvus.
Common raven
Corvus corax
Hooded crow
Corvus cornix
Carrion crow
Corvus corone
House crow
Corvus splendens
Pied crow
Corvus albus
Jungle crow
Corvus macrorhynchos
CompareRook vs Common ravenRook vs Hooded crowRook vs Carrion crowRook vs House crow
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is a rook?
An adult Rook weighs 452 g, with values from 418 g to 489 g reported by our sources. It falls in the small size class.
What does the rook eat?
The rook is an omnivore.
What habitat does the rook live in?
The rook lives in grassland habitat and is terrestrial and sedentary.
Is the rook endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List classifies the rook as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a rook live?
The rook has a lifespan of 19.9 years, with values up to 22.9 years reported by our sources.
How many eggs does a rook lay?
The rook lays 4 eggs per clutch, with one clutch per year and an incubation period of 17 days.
When does a rook reach sexual maturity?
A rook reaches sexual maturity at 1.7 years, with values from 1.5 to 2.0 years reported by our sources.
Who named the rook?
The rook, Corvus frugilegus, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rook (Corvus frugilegus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rook
“Rook (Corvus frugilegus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rook.
@misc{rook_2026,
title = {Rook (Corvus frugilegus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rook},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}