My Mum taught me how to tell rooks from crows. Not by the unfeathered face or ragged trousers of the rook but by the simple view that if you see more than one carrion crow they are rooks; if you see a rook on its own its a crow!.
There is a degree of truth in this old adage. Rooks feed in flocks and tend to seek a limited number of invertebrates such as earthworms and leatherjackets. These vary in distance from the soil surface according to local moisture and temperature and once a few Rooks find a good spot they will be joined by the rest of the flock. Crows feed on a wider range of animals and also tend to use stealth to capture their prey. Stealth is less easy when a bird is accompanied by others so they tend to hunt alone.
So Mum was right – if you see one rook its a crow!
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