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Here in the UK, rooks and crows are two separate species, but both members of the corvid family. The former tends to eat insects (leatherjackets etc), the latter carrion/roadkill etc.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I was having bad thoughts about you limeys.

Another Limey chips in, the UK Rook is a vegetarian, well, insects too I guess, the UK Carrion Crow and the Hooded Crow are scavengers and road kill specialists like the American Crow.
CBL1, how would you rate the Jackdaw, a smaller member of the corvid family? I suspect they raid songbirds nests, do they eat carrion?.
I was in England before Christmas visiting relatives, and I saw, to my delight several jackdaws sitting on my hotel roof, in Witham, Essex. I had a pet jackdaw for years as a boy, smart birds. When I left for Canada in 1976 they were quite scarce.
Mike

I am reminded of the Gentleman at the counter of a Sandwich Shop who inquired about the special of the day. When he was informed that it was a Beef Tounge Sandwich, he recoiled and said, "It may be delicous, but I can't get over where it came from", and then ordered an Egg Sandwich.

Least the egg came wrapped.

Rook diet:Diet
Food is predominantly earthworms and insect larvae, which the bird finds by probing the ground with its strong bill. It also eats cultivated cereal grain, smaller amounts of fruit, small mammals, acorns, small birds, their eggs and young and carrion. In urban sites, human food scraps are taken from rubbish dumps and streets, usually in the early hours when it is relatively quiet. It has also been seen along the seashore, feeding on insects, crustaceans and suitable food flotsam.
I like most folks enjoy eating Lobster and Crab also.Their diet is pretty revolting.

People sometimes consume roadkill. In one of his books, Steve Bodio gives a description of how hawk tastes. At that point in his life, there was no juncture between diet and pride. That comes with more success and money.
Isn't it Cris Rock who points out that there isn't lactose intolerance in Rowanda?


Best,
Ted

Mike , I used to love Jackdaws...a very cool little bird, & smart , as you said.
I used to be an avid Bird Nester as a "Yout'" back in hedgerows of Somerset.
I remember Magpies as the real nest destroyers..they'd follow me sometimes, destroying the nests I found on occasion.Crows would do the same.
I used to delight in eating Magpie eggs to get revenge.
Rooks or Jackdaws didn't seem to bother.
Franc

I was wondering about eating the rooks I saw while staying last year with a friend at Cock Lake near Wedmore in Somerset. It was April and there were dozens of nests in several trees on the property. I didn't want to ask my fragrant friend about eating them---you know how things are over there---but what's the scoop, Franc? At what time of the year do they eat the rooks?

Generally the only time of year rook is/was eaten was early May - often between the 5-9th if memory serves when the young "branchers" were culled prior to them taking flight. Outside of this period of time, I am led to believe rook is not necessarily edible or if it is, not very tasty. I was very pleasantly surprised how nice rook pie was.