Red-billed Blue Magpie
Urocissa erythroryncha
A bird of jaw-dropping beauty, the Red-billed Blue Magpie is a large, intelligent corvid with an extraordinarily long blue tail, a striking black-and-white head, and a bright orange-red bill.
Species Ecological Profile
Sourced from high-confidence eBird and regional field surveys
Temperate broadleaf oak forests, mixed pine slopes, orchards, hill villages, and garden margins. Highly active in noisy family groups patrolling the lower and middle forest canopy.
Omnivorous and opportunistic. Feeds on beetles, caterpillars, small rodents, frogs, lizards, wild berries, flower nectar, seeds, and occasionally steals eggs and nestlings from smaller birds.
Permanent resident. Stays in the Naukuchiatal area year-round, performing minor local movements down into sheltered crop valleys during heavy winter snowfall.
March to July. Builds a large, relatively shallow cup nest of twigs, dry grasses, and roots, typically lined with fine fibers and placed in the fork of a tall oak or wild cherry tree.
Extremely common and vocal. Spotted regularly gliding gracefully across the Naukuchiatal valley with their long tails trailing, or foraging boldy near crop fields and local home gardens.
Photographic Log
Visual field records captured in Naukuchiatal (Click to enlarge)
