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rook1
/rook/, n.1. a black, European crow, Corvus frugilegus, noted for its gregarious habits.2. a sharper at cards or dice; swindler.v.t.3. to cheat; fleece; swindle.rook2/rook/, n. Chess.one of two pieces of the same color that may be moved any number of unobstructed squares horizontally or vertically; castle.
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Rooks, 18 in. (45 cm) long, are black and have shaggy thigh feathers and bare white skin at the base of the sharp bill. They are migratory and range discontinuously from Britain to Iran and Manchuria. They dig for larvae and worms in meadows and plowed fields. They nest in large colonies (rookeries) in tall trees, sometimes within towns; the nest, solidly constructed of twigs and soil, is used year after year.* * *
▪ bird(Corvus frugilegus), the most abundant Eurasian bird of the crow family Corvidae (q.v.). It resembles the carrion crow in size (45 cm [18 inches]) and in black coloration, but the adult rook usually has shaggy thigh feathers and has bare white skin at the base of its sharp bill. The species ranges discontinuously from England to Iran and Manchuria and is migratory. Rooks nest in large colonies (rookeries) in tall trees, sometimes within towns. Their nests are solidly constructed of twigs and soil and are used year after year. The birds lay three to five light greenish, heavily speckled eggs, and the young are able to fly about a month after birth. Rooks dig for larvae and worms in meadows and plowed fields and may pull up grain seedlings and young potato plants.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
