Eurasian Magpie

Pica pica

Not Evaluated · IUCN Red List

NENot EvaluatedOmnivoreUrbanDomed nestMedium · 217 g

What the Eurasian Magpie sounds like

Sonogram of the Eurasian Magpie: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Philippe_Grange · Aberrant · Arrondissement de la Roche-sur-Yon (near La Roche-sur-Yon), Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Eurasian Magpie: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Philippe_Grange · Call, song, subsong · Arrondissement de la Roche-sur-Yon (near La Roche-sur-Yon), Vendée, Pays de la Loire, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Eurasian Magpie: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Call, bavardage · Vains, Manche, Normandie, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The adult male of the nominate subspecies, P. p. pica, is 44–46 cm (17–18 in) in length, more than half of which is the tail. Its wingspan is 52–62 cm (20–24 in). The head, neck, breast and vent are glossy black with a metallic green and violet sheen; the belly and scapulars (shoulder feathers) are pure white; the wings are black glossed with green or purple, and the primaries have white inner webs, conspicuous when the wing is open. The graduated tail is black, glossed with green and reddish purple. The legs and bill are black; the iris is dark brown.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Eurasian Magpie

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Eurasian Magpie

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 69 countries with regular records, and 4 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Morocco, Japan, United States, Singapore.

About the Eurasian Magpie

The Eurasian magpie or common magpie is a resident breeding bird throughout the northern part of the Eurasian continent. It is one of several birds in the crow family (corvids) that are designated as magpies, and it belongs to the Holarctic radiation of "monochrome" magpies. In Europe, the term "magpie" is used by English speakers as a synonym for the Eurasian magpie; the only other species of magpie in Europe is the Iberian magpie, which is restricted to the Iberian Peninsula. Despite sharing a name and similar colouration, they are not closely related to the Australian magpie, which is an artamid.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Black-billed Magpie vs Eurasian Magpie · Eurasian Magpie vs Oriental Magpie · Eurasian Magpie vs Yellow-billed Magpie

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