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Red-billed Chough

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesRockyCavity nestMedium · 277 g
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 1
Photo: fernium · CC BY 4.0
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 2
Photo: fernium · CC BY 4.0
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 3
Photo: ANGEL MARCOS LUENGO BELLO · CC BY 4.0
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 4
Photo: Gonzalo Ganda Álvarez · CC BY 4.0
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 5
Photo: Gonzalo Ganda Álvarez · CC BY 4.0
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 6
Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 7
Photo: Jymm · Public domain
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 8
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 9
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), photo 10
Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0

What the Red-billed Chough sounds like

Sonogram of the Red-billed Chough: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Carlo Fracasso · Call, duet · Roccamandolfi, Province of Isernia, Molise, Italy · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Red-billed Chough: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Carlo Fracasso · Duet, flight call, song · Roccamandolfi, Province of Isernia, Molise, Italy · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Red-billed Chough: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Lionel Triboulin · Call · Glenminard, County Kerry, Ireland · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The adult of the "nominate" subspecies of the red-billed chough, P. p. pyrrhocorax, is 39–40 centimetres (15–16 inches) in length, has a 73–90 centimetres (29–35 inches) wingspan, and weighs an average 310 grammes (10.9 oz). Its plumage is velvet-black, green-glossed on the body, and it has a long curved red bill and red legs. The sexes are similar (although adults can be sexed in the hand using a formula involving tarsus length and bill width) but the juvenile has an orange bill and pink legs until its first autumn, and less glossy plumage.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Red-billed Chough

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

Where to see the Red-billed Chough

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 36 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.

Spain France United Kingdom India Ireland Portugal China Mongolia Isle of Man Türkiye Bhutan Iran Morocco Nepal Georgia Italy Kyrgyzstan Armenia Azerbaijan Ethiopia Greece Russia Kazakhstan Switzerland Andorra Tajikistan Jersey Algeria Iraq Turkmenistan Pakistan Syria Albania Uzbekistan North Macedonia Afghanistan

Recorded as a rare visitor in Germany, Taiwan, Austria, Tunisia.

About the Red-billed Chough

The red-billed chough, Cornish chough or simply chough is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. Its eight subspecies breed on mountains and coastal cliffs from the western coasts of Ireland and Britain east through southern Europe, North Africa and Middle East to Central Asia, India and China.

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

Easily confused with

Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) Alpine ChoughPyrrhocorax graculusThe adult of the nominate subspecies of the Alpine chough has glossy black plumage, a short yellow bill, dark brown irises, and red legs.

Side by side: Alpine Chough vs Red-billed Chough

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