Saatkrähe Lot

The rook (Corvus frugilegus) reaches a body length of about 45 to 47 cm and wears uniformly black plumage with a marked violet-blue metallic sheen. The most reliable field mark is the bare, pale grey-white skin around the base of the bill in adult birds, which separates the rook clearly from the similarly sized carrion crow, whose bill base is feathered and whose plumage looks duller overall. Juvenile rooks still have a feathered bill base and are best identified in the field by their slimmer bill profile, the loose feathering of the upper legs and their highly gregarious behaviour. In flight, the rook shows somewhat longer wings with deeper finger projections, a lighter wingbeat and a deeper, drawn-out cawing call. From the noticeably smaller jackdaw, the rook is clearly separated by size, by its completely black plumage without a grey nape and by the lack of a pale blue iris.

The rook's habitat is open farmed landscape with meadows, pastures and arable fields interspersed with copses, avenues and single tall trees in which the colonies are placed. As a pronounced colonial breeder, it nests in groups ranging from a few pairs to several hundred tightly spaced nests in tall deciduous trees. Colonies increasingly sit within or at the edge of settlements, because suitable mature trees, favourable microclimate and protection from illegal disturbance combine there. Rooks are diurnal omnivores feeding mainly on soil invertebrates, seeds and plant material, almost always foraging in flocks and gathering at communal roosts in the evening.

In Germany the rook is not listed in the Federal Hunting Act but is covered entirely by the Federal Nature Conservation Act and the EU Birds Directive. It is treated as a strictly protected species under section 7 paragraph 2 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act, and section 44 prohibits deliberate killing, capture or disturbance as well as the destruction of nests and colony sites. This protection continues outside the breeding season, because rook colonies are traditionally re-used. Interventions are only possible through strictly justified exemption permits issued by the competent nature conservation authority under the conditions of Article 9 of the EU Birds Directive. From this legal frame the typical conflicts arise. In agriculture, large flocks can cause feeding damage in particular to spring cereals, maize and freshly drilled seed. In settlements, residents perceive the calls of the colony, droppings and falling nest material during the breeding season as a noise and hygiene problem. Specialist bodies such as NABU, LBV and the state bird protection stations therefore recommend non-lethal deterrence and management concepts as well as adjustments in farming practice, because culling is rarely legally admissible and biologically has no lasting effect. For hunters, this means that rooks are not shot and must be identified carefully in the field to be separated from the huntable carrion crow and the equally protected jackdaw.