Crows (Corvidae)
Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) - HBW 14, p. 615
French: Crave à bec rouge
German: Alpenkrähe
Spanish: Chova Piquirroja
Other common names: Common Chough; Cornish Chough (England)
Taxonomy: Upupa Pyrrhocorax Linnaeus, 1758, England.
Hybrids with P. graculus reported very rarely. Isolated race baileyi differs vocally from others; taxonomic investigation needed. Birds in Inner Mongolia and W Heilongjiang (NE China) of uncertain racial identity, currently included in brachypus. Races intergrade, and size tends to increase clinally towards S. Several other races proposed, based on minor differences and/or intermediate populations: pontifex (Elburz Mts, in N Iran) and subdocilis (Khrebet Mts, on Turkmenistan-NE Iran border) synonymized with docilis; and stresemanni (Sayan Mts, .. View all taxonomy...
Taxonomy: Upupa Pyrrhocorax Linnaeus, 1758, England.
Hybrids with P. graculus reported very rarely. Isolated race baileyi differs vocally from others; taxonomic investigation needed. Birds in Inner Mongolia and W Heilongjiang (NE China) of uncertain racial identity, currently included in brachypus. Races intergrade, and size tends to increase clinally towards S. Several other races proposed, based on minor differences and/or intermediate populations: pontifex (Elburz Mts, in N Iran) and subdocilis (Khrebet Mts, on Turkmenistan-NE Iran border) synonymized with docilis; and stresemanni (Sayan Mts, in S Russia) included in centralis. Race erythroramphos often misspelt "erythrorhamphos". Eight subspecies currently recognized.
Hybrids with P. graculus reported very rarely. Isolated race baileyi differs vocally from others; taxonomic investigation needed. Birds in Inner Mongolia and W Heilongjiang (NE China) of uncertain racial identity, currently included in brachypus. Races intergrade, and size tends to increase clinally towards S. Several other races proposed, based on minor differences and/or intermediate populations: pontifex (Elburz Mts, in N Iran) and subdocilis (Khrebet Mts, on Turkmenistan-NE Iran border) synonymized with docilis; and stresemanni (Sayan Mts, in S Russia) included in centralis. Race erythroramphos often misspelt "erythrorhamphos". Eight subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- pyrrhocorax ( Linnaeus, 1758) - N, W & S Ireland, W Scotland, I of Man, Wales and SW England (Cornwall).
- erythroramphos ( Vieillot, 1817) - NE Portugal, Spain, NW & S France, SW Switzerland, C Italy, and Sardinia and Sicily.
- barbarus Vaurie, 1954 - mountains of NW Africa (Morocco and Algeria); also Canary Is (La Palma).
- pyrrhocorax ( Linnaeus, 1758) - N, W & S Ireland, W Scotland, I of Man, Wales and SW England (Cornwall).
- erythroramphos ( Vieillot, 1817) - NE Portugal, Spain, NW & S France, SW Switzerland, C Italy, and Sardinia and Sicily.
- barbarus Vaurie, 1954 - mountains of NW Africa (Morocco and Algeria); also Canary Is (La Palma).
- docilis ( S. G. Gmelin, 1774) - S Balkans, Greece (including Crete), and Turkey E to Caucasus, Levant (Lebanon, N Israel, C Syria), N Iraq, N Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
- centralis Stresemann, 1928 - NW Himalayas NE through Altai to Mongolia and Buryatia (S Russia) and, in S, E to SW China (SW Xizang), Kashmir and Ladakh.
- himalayanus ( Gould, 1862) - Himalayas E to Bhutan and NE India (Arunachal Pradesh) and to C & S China (C Gansu S to Sichuan and Yunnan).
- brachypus ( Swinhoe, 1871) - NE & E China (Inner Mongolia and W Heilongjiang S to Ningxia, Shaanxi and Hebei).
- baileyi Rand & Vaurie, 1955 - Simien (and nearby Mt Abune Yosef and Dilenta highlands) and Bale Mts, in Ethiopia.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A juvenile begging to an adult. Locality Muel, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (ssp erythrorhamphos)
Jesús Laborda 1 July 2009 3 years ago 26 sec 4.7 -
A bird foraging in a grassland, finally extracting and eating an earthworm Locality Oukaïmeden, Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz Region, Morocco (ssp barbarus)
Josep del Hoyo 18 May 2006 6 years ago 37 sec 4.5 -
A bird in an old castle (I) Locality Castile and Leon, Spain
Juan Sanabria 1 May 2008 4 years ago 23 sec 4.3 -
A bird drinking. Locality Muel, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (ssp erythrorhamphos)
Jesús Laborda 7 July 2012 15 weeks ago 21 sec 4.3 -
Four birds drinking. Locality Muel, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (ssp erythrorhamphos)
Jesús Laborda 1 July 2009 3 years ago 15 sec 4.3 -
A bird on the ground, panting. Locality Muel, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (ssp erythrorhamphos)
Jesús Laborda 1 July 2009 3 years ago 21 sec 4.2
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A bird on the ground.
Locality Muel, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (ssp erythrorhamphos)
Jesús Laborda 11 July 2011 1 year ago 4.3 -
A bird in a pond.
Locality Muel, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (ssp erythrorhamphos)
Jesús Laborda 1 July 2010 2 years ago 4.2 -
A bird bathing.
Locality Muel, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain (ssp erythrorhamphos)
Jesús Laborda 7 July 2012 29 weeks ago 4 -
One bird foraging on the ground
Locality Song-Kul, Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan
Rémi Bigonneau 13 August 2011 1 year ago 4 -
Seen from above, the widespread wings of this individual allow to take a detailed look to their structure.
Locality Mizen Peninsula, County Cork, Ireland (ssp pyrrhocorax)
Liki Fumei 20 June 2007 3 years ago 4 -
Perched adults
Locality Oukaïmeden, Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz Region, Morocco (ssp barbarus)
Alain Fossé 18 March 2004 3 years ago 4
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Calls 3 birds Locality London Zoo, London, England, Great Britain
(ssp unknown subspecies)
Stuart Fisher 4 years ago 4 -
Calls of a bird Locality Albarracín, Teruel, Aragón, Spain
(ssp erythrorhamphos)
Carlos Fabregat 13 April 2009 3 years ago 3.5
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