In Russia it was always thought: when rooks arrive, then spring comes. They are her messengers. And this happens in the second half of March, namely the 17th of this month is called according to the popular calendar “Gerasim Grachevnik”.
Several birds are associated with these birds. When rooks arrive (directly to their last year’s nests), they immediately begin to repair them. This is a sign that spring should be friendly and warm. And if they remain on the nests for a short time, then the cold will still hold.
The rook bird is very similar to a crow in its appearance, so many people confuse them. By the way, rooks can often be found in a crow flock. But they have one characteristic distinguishing feature - this is the fledgling ring around the beak. True, in young individuals such a ring is absent. The color of feathers in the bird is black, with a metallic blue tint (below is a photo of a rook).
When the rooks arrive, there is still not enough food for them, so they roam the hollows in search of seeds from last year's grasses and ground beetles that appeared. As soon as plowing begins in the fields, birds follow the tractor, collecting earthworms.
And with the advent of May beetles, they begin to gather in groves, forest parks and are engaged in the destruction of harmful insects. They collect them from the leaves of aspen and birch. These rooks bring tangible benefits, because they save the forest from the larvae of May beetles and nutcracker beetles, from wireworms, bug bugs and weevils.
But the birds also bring some harm (by pecking earthworms and agricultural seeds sown in the fields). And in the summer, birds can cause significant damage to the fields of sunflower, peas and corn. Yes, and melon fields can suffer, because rooks like to enjoy melons and watermelons.
Rooks nest with colonies on trees; such rookery colonies can exist for several years. On one large tree several dozens of nests can be located. Favorite habitats of these birds include linden parks, light birch groves, old gardens or forest edges that are located close to the fields.
Rooks arrange their nests at an altitude of 15 meters from the ground. They place them near a tree trunk or in a fork in thick branches. Nests are built from the branches of the same trees. The lower part of the nest consists of well-connected thick branches, and the top is made of thin twigs. The bottom is lined with soft grass, shreds of wool or some rags found.
Nesting occurs in April - May, in the clutch usually from 3 to 5 eggs, they are green with brown spots. Only the female hatches the chicks. After 16 - 20 days, chicks appear, they do not have plumage, so the female has not to leave the nests for a long time. All this time, the male feeds the female first, and then the chicks that appeared.
After about a week (or a little more), the female begins to fly out and take part in feeding her brood. After a month, the chicks gradually fly out of the nest, for some time their parents still feed them.
A colony of rooks is heard from afar, noise and din are heard throughout the district. Birds do not pay attention to landscape changes, even to the fact that their settlements are almost in the center of an overgrown city.
And, despite the fact that there is a lot of noise from these birds when rooks arrive, people’s hearts are getting warmer. This means that warm days will soon come, nature will begin to wake up, because it was not for nothing that people said: "Rooks pecked the spring."
