Red-billed Blue Magpie

The Red-billed Blue Magpie is a strikingly elegant corvid found across South and East Asia, from the Himalayan foothills to parts of China and Southeast Asia. Its combination of a black head, soft blue-grey body, and an extremely long, white-tipped tail makes it one of the more visually dramatic members of the crow family.

It typically moves through forest and forest edge in small, noisy groups, often heard before it is seen.

• Head and neck feathers are glossy black, with a pale silvery-white patch on the nape and hindcrown that contrasts against the darker crown and back
• Body contour feathers are a soft blue-grey, extending across the back, wings, and breast
• Underparts feathers are whitish, providing a paler contrast to the blue-grey upperparts
• Tail feathers are extremely long and strongly graduated, blue with bold white tips, and are among the most recognizable feathers of any Asian corvid due to their length and pattern

Sexes look similar in plumage, with no strong visual difference between males and females. Juveniles show a duller, browner-grey body and shorter tail feathers that lengthen and brighten over successive molts. Adults undergo one complete molt annually, with the long tail feathers regrown gradually.

• Found across the Himalayan foothills, parts of China, and northern Southeast Asia
• Favors broadleaf forest, forest edge, scrub, and cultivated land with scattered trees
• Largely resident, with some local altitudinal movement in mountainous parts of its range

Red-billed Blue Magpies travel in small, vocal groups through forest and edge habitat, foraging for insects, small animals, fruit, and eggs or nestlings of other birds. Calls are loud and varied, including harsh screeches and softer chattering notes exchanged within the group. Nests are bulky stick cups built in trees, and the species is known for cooperative behavior, with related birds sometimes assisting at the nest.