Habitat Preferences of Foraging Rooks Corvus frugilegus During the Breeding Period in the Agricultural Landscape of Eastern Poland

Abstract

The study was carried out in 2000-2002 around 6 rookeries. Rooks foraged in numbers from 1 to 132 birds (n = 417); flocks of less than 10 individuals were dominant. The type of crop influenced the size of a foraging flock. Most of the rooks were recorded within 0.5-1 km of the rookery, while the greatest distance of a foraging ground from the rookery (x̄ = 2833.3 m) depended on the size of that rookery. Spring corn, meadows and pastureland were of the greatest significance in the rooks' foraging area. Winter corn and root crops were avoided, while wasteland areas were visited intermittently.