Species of bird
Yellow-billed blue magpie |
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From Chopta, Uttarakhand, India |
Conservation status |
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg/220px-Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg.png) Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] |
Scientific classification |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Corvidae |
Genus: | Urocissa |
Species: | U. flavirostris |
Binomial name |
Urocissa flavirostris
(Blyth, 1846) |
The yellow-billed blue-magpie , or gold-billed magpie (Urocissa flavirostris), is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, along with crows and jays. It forms a superspecies with the Taiwan blue magpie and the red-billed blue magpie. The species' range covers the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent, including the lower Himalayan foothills, with a disjunct population in Vietnam.
Description
Length 66 cm (26 in), including tail of about 46 cm (18 in). Sexes alike. Head, neck, and breast black, with a white patch on the nape; remainder of lower plumage white, faintly tinged with lilac; whole upper plumage purplish-blue, brighter on the wings and tail; flight-feathers tipped with white, along with white outermost wing feathers; tail long and graduated, with blue feathers tipped with white, except for the very long central pair which have a band of black in front of the white
Distribution
The yellow-billed blue magpie is found throughout the Himalayas from Hazara to the Brahmaputra. It is divided into two sub-species. Of these, U. f. cucullata is the more common and is found from the Western boundary of the range to Western Nepal, being common through most of the hill stations of the Western Himalayas, breeding in a zone from 1,500 to 3,000 m (4,900 to 9,800 ft). The eastern form is found from Eastern Nepal eastwards and differs in that the under parts have a darker lilac tinge; its zone is slightly higher than that of the Western form, and it seldom occurs as low as 1,830 m (6,000 ft). It is a resident species, but during the winter months it usually moves to lower elevations. From Simla eastwards, the closely related red-billed blue magpie (Urocissa erythroryncha) is often found in the same areas as the yellow-billed species; it is particularly common about Mussoorie, Tehri-Garhwal, -Kumaon, and in Nepal, and may be easily distinguished by its red beak and the greater extent of the white nape-patch.
Behaviour
The blue magpies are primarily arboreal birds. While most common in areas of dense jungle, they can also be found in agriculture areas and bare mountain sides at higher elevation. They frequently feed on the ground and adopt a hopping gait with the tail held high to prevent it coming into contact with the ground. They live in parties of seven or eight birds and are highly territorial. The flight is slow and undulating once the bird comes into the open. The food consists of small mammals, the eggs and young of other birds, insects, wild fruits and berries. This bird is very vocal with a variety of vocalizations.
Nesting
The magpies build their nests in the forks of trees in areas of heavy foliage. The large nests are constructed out of sticks and lined with grass and other fibers. The clutch consists of three or four eggs. The base-colour varies from a pale, dingy yellowish-stone colour to a darkish rather reddish-stone colour, and there is very occasionally a faint greenish tinge. The markings consist of small specks, blotches, streaks, and mottlings of various shades of brown, sienna 1 or purple, and they generally tend to collect in a cap or zone about the broad end of the egg.
The yellow-billed blue magpie or gold-billed magpie in natural habitat at Lohna,
Palampur References
- ^ BirdLife International (2017). "Urocissa flavirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22705798A118778708. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22705798A118778708.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
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Choughs | Pyrrhocorax | - Alpine chough (P. graculus)
- Red-billed chough (P. pyrrhocorax)
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Treepies | Crypsirina | - Hooded treepie (C. cucullata)
- Black racket-tailed treepie (C. temia)
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Dendrocitta | - Andaman treepie (D. bayleyi)
- Bornean treepie (D. cinerascens)
- Grey treepie (D. formosae)
- Black-faced treepie (D. frontalis)
- White-bellied treepie (D. leucogastra)
- Sumatran treepie (D. occipitalis)
- Rufous treepie (D. vagabunda)
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Platysmurus | - Malayan black magpie (P. leucopterus)
- Bornean black magpie (P. aterrimus)
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Temnurus | - Ratchet-tailed treepie (T. temnurus)
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Oriental magpies | Cissa | - Common green magpie (C. chinensis)
- Indochinese green magpie (C. hypoleuca)
- Bornean green magpie (C. jefferyi)
- Javan green magpie (C. thalassina)
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Urocissa | - Taiwan blue magpie (U. caerulea)
- Red-billed blue magpie (U. erythrorhyncha)
- Yellow-billed blue magpie (U. flavirostris)
- Sri Lanka blue magpie (U. ornata)
- White-winged magpie (U. whiteheadi)
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Old World jays | Garrulus | - Eurasian jay (G. glandarius)
- Lanceolated jay (G. lanceolatus)
- Lidth's jay (G. lidthi)
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Podoces (Ground jays) | - Xinjiang ground jay (P. biddulphi)
- Mongolian ground jay (P. hendersoni)
- Turkestan ground jay (P. panderi)
- Iranian ground jay (P. pleskei)
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Ptilostomus | |
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Stresemann's bushcrow | Zavattariornis | - Stresemann's bushcrow (Z. stresemanni)
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Nutcrackers | Nucifraga | - Spotted nutcracker (N. caryocatactes)
- Clark's nutcracker (N. columbiana)
- Kashmir nutcracker (N. multipunctata)
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Holarctic magpies | Pica | - Black-billed magpie (P. hudsonia)
- Yellow-billed magpie (P. nuttalli)
- Eurasian magpie (P. pica)
- Oriental magpie (P. sericea)
- Maghreb magpie (P. mauritanica)
- Asir magpie (P. asirensis)
- Black-rumped magpie (P. bottanensis)
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True crows | Corvus | - Australian and Melanesian species
- Little crow (C. bennetti)
- Australian raven (C. coronoides)
- Bismarck crow (C. insularis)
- Brown-headed crow (C. fuscicapillus)
- Bougainville crow (C. meeki)
- Little raven (C. mellori)
- New Caledonian crow (C. moneduloides)
- Torresian crow (C. orru)
- Forest raven (C. tasmanicus)
- Grey crow (C. tristis)
- Long-billed crow (C. validus)
- White-billed crow (C. woodfordi)
- Pacific island species
- Hawaiian crow (C. hawaiiensis)
- Mariana crow (C. kubaryi)
- Tropical Asian species
- Slender-billed crow (C. enca)
- Small crow (C. samarensis)
- Palawan crow (C. pusillus)
- Flores crow (C. florensis)
- Large-billed crow (C. macrorhynchos)
- Eastern jungle crow (C. levaillantii)
- Indian jungle crow (C. culminatus)
- House crow (C. splendens)
- Collared crow (C. torquatus)
- Piping crow (C. typicus)
- Banggai crow (C. unicolor)
- Violet crow (C. violaceus)
- Eurasian and North African species
- Mesopotamian crow (C. capellanus)
- Hooded crow (C. cornix)
- Carrion crow (C. corone)
- Rook (C. frugilegus)
- Eastern carrion crow (C. orientalis)
- Fan-tailed raven (C. rhipidurus)
- Brown-necked raven (C. ruficollis)
- Holarctic species
- Common raven (C. corax)
- North and Central American species
- American crow (C. brachyrhynchos)
- Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus)
- Tamaulipas crow (C. imparatus)
- Jamaican crow (C. jamaicensis)
- White-necked crow (C. leucognaphalus)
- Cuban palm crow (C. minutus)
- Cuban crow (C. nasicus)
- Fish crow (C. ossifragus)
- Hispaniolan palm crow (C. palmarum)
- Sinaloan crow (C. sinaloae)
- Tropical African species
- White-necked raven (C. albicollis)
- Pied crow (C. albus)
- Cape crow (C. capensis)
- Thick-billed raven (C. crassirostris)
- Somali crow (C. edithae)
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Jackdaws | |
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Azure-winged magpies | Cyanopica | - Iberian magpie (C. cooki)
- Azure-winged magpie (C. cyanus)
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Grey jays | Perisoreus | - Canada jay (P. canadensis)
- Siberian jay (P. infaustus)
- Sichuan jay (P. internigrans)
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New World jays | Aphelocoma (Scrub jays) | - California scrub jay (A. californica)
- Island scrub jay (A. insularis)
- Woodhouse's scrub jay (A. woodhouseii)
- Florida scrub jay (A. coerulescens)
- Transvolcanic jay (A. ultramarina)
- Unicolored jay (A. unicolor)
- Mexican jay (A. wollweberi)
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Calocitta (Magpie-Jays) | - Black-throated magpie-jay (C. colliei)
- White-throated Magpie-jay (C. formosa)
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Cyanocitta | - Blue jay (C. cristata)
- Steller's jay (C. stelleri)
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Cyanocorax | - Black-chested jay (C. affinis)
- Purplish-backed jay (C. beecheii)
- Azure jay (C. caeruleus)
- Cayenne jay (C. cayanus)
- Plush-crested jay (C. chrysops)
- Curl-crested jay (C. cristatellus)
- Purplish jay (C. cyanomelas)
- White-naped jay (C. cyanopogon)
- Tufted jay (C. dickeyi)
- Azure-naped jay (C. heilprini)
- Bushy-crested jay (C. melanocyaneus)
- Brown jay (C. morio)
- White-tailed jay (C. mystacalis)
- San Blas jay (C. sanblasianus)
- Violaceous jay (C. violaceus)
- Green jay (C. ynca)
- Yucatan jay (C. yucatanicus)
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Cyanolyca | - Silvery-throated jay (C. argentigula)
- Black-collared jay (C. armillata)
- Azure-hooded jay (C. cucullata)
- White-throated jay (C. mirabilis)
- Dwarf jay (C. nana)
- Beautiful jay (C. pulchra)
- Black-throated jay (C. pumilo)
- Turquoise jay (C. turcosa)
- White-collared jay (C. viridicyana)
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Gymnorhinus | - Pinyon jay (G. cyanocephalus)
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Taxon identifiers |
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Urocissa flavirostris | |
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