One rook is a crow - not so!

This isn't exactly green and country in the city as it takes place in Great Dunmow a town in Essex (a very pretty little town too with a very good local museum).

I went there yesterday in my friend Tony's sidecar and we met up with our friend Tina in the carpark by the co-op. There was a rook there - it was definitely a rook and definitely on its own.

The saying is that lots of crows are rooks and one rook is a crow.

I don't know about the country but here in London you can definitely see large groups of crows. And now it seems one rook can really be one rook!

One rook - it must be a crow?

Morning off today. Looked out the bedroom window to see a crow on the ash tree overhanging my garden. It was eating something, though I couldn't see what.

There is a saying:

If you see one rook, it's a crow
If you see lots of crows, they're rooks

It is true that one rook will be a crow, but lots of crows can be crows. Certainly on the playing fields etc down Marsh Lane and on various bits of open grass along side the Lee Navigation there are often large groups of crows.

I mean to check out this year whether this is seasonal - groups in winter, pairs in spring.

I read once that before street sanitation was introduced there would be crows scavenging the rubbish!