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rook
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Rook
Gregarious European crow Corvus frugilegus. The plumage is black and lustrous and the face bare; the legs, toes, and claws are also black. A rook can grow to 45 cm/18 in long. Rooks nest in colonies (rookeries) at the tops of trees. They feed mainly on invertebrates found just below the soil surface. The last 5 mm/0.2 in of beak tip is mostly cartilage containing lots of nerve endings to enable the rook to feel for hidden food.
The nest is a large structure made of twigs and straw, and in it are laid four to six bluish-green eggs blotched with greenish-brown. Feathers round the base of the beak are present in young birds but do not grow again after the second moult.
© Research Machines plc 2008. All rights reserved. Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines plc.
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