What they like

Open country with short turf and soft soil. Pastures, arable fields, sports fields, verges. And above all: tall trees nearby to nest together. Give it a hand: leave a corner of grass a bit rough, mow in stages, and don’t create a neat “golf-course” across your whole yard. On farmland, species-rich grassland and less frequent harrowing or rolling help: that brings life back into the soil.

Ecological importance

The rook is a cleaner with a sharp bill. It mainly eats earthworms, larvae, leatherjackets (cranefly larvae) and beetles. That reduces pest pressure on the land. Chicks are protein-hungry: they grow big on soil invertebrates. In the food chain it is itself prey for birds of prey and the fox, and thus simply part of the system.

When in the Netherlands

Year-round. In early spring they noisily build colonies.

Status

Breeding bird. Numbers have declined in recent decades; breeding colonies are vulnerable to disturbance.