The social life of corvids
Abstract
Of the 120 species of birds in the corvid family, which includes the crows, ravens, magpies and jays, the bare-faced rook is perhaps the most social of them all. At a rookery in Norfolk, for example, winter roosts can number up to 60,000 individuals. The name for a congregation of rooks is a 'parliament'. In English folklore, parliament is an apt name for rook justice, as it is said that rooks form a circle around a wrongdoer producing a cacophony of calls and caws which can go on for hours until the offender is either attacked and killed or released to live another day. Although only fiction, such tales reflect their canny reputation as thieves and tricksters, as well as possessors of great wisdom.
- Publication:
-
Current Biology
- Pub Date:
- August 2007
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.cub.2007.05.070
- Bibcode:
- 2007CBio...17.R652C