Bird Album
Common Green Magpie
Cissa chinensis (Boddaert, 1783)
≈35 cmLength127 gWeight
It has an emerald-green body, a red bill, red legs and feet, and a single black stripe running from the bill through the eye to the nape.
Busiest months: February–March · Most records: Thailand, India, Nepal
How to identify
Field marks
- Bright green body feathers, slightly paler underparts and chestnut wings
- Broad black stripe from the bill through the eye to the nape
- Red eye-ring, bill, legs and feet
- Tail longer than in other members of the genus, with a white tip
Voice
Often a grating “peep-peep”; also frequently whistles and chatters.
Where and when it's recorded
Common Green Magpie has been recorded at 173 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 13 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Mahananda WLS – Rongtong and Shivakhola ForestIndia468 records
- Kaeng Krachan NPThailand419 records
- Khao Yai NPThailand405 records
More places
- Kaeng Krachan NP – stream crossings 1–3Thailand393 records
- Mahananda WLS – LatpancharIndia366 records
- Taksin Maharat NP – headquarters vicinityThailand294 records
- SattalIndia250 records
- Dihing Patkai NP – SoraipungIndia186 records
- Dihing Patkai NP – SoraipungIndia161 records
- Corbett NP – DhikalaIndia153 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The common green magpie (Cissa chinensis) is a member of the crow family, roughly the size of the Eurasian jay or slightly smaller. This all contrasts vividly with the red fleshy eye rims, bill and legs. The wings are reddish maroon.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Common Green Magpie?
The Common Green Magpie is about ≈35 cm long and weighs around 127 g.
Where does the Common Green Magpie live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: Himalayas from northwestern India through southern China and Vietnam, Sumatra and Borneo. It is most often recorded in Thailand, India and Nepal.
When is the best time to see the Common Green Magpie?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February and March (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Common Green Magpie endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Common Green Magpie as Least Concern.
What does the Common Green Magpie eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Common Green Magpie in?
It belongs to the family Crows, Jays (Corvidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- ≈35 cm
- Weight
- 127 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Varied
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 146 mm
- Tail
- 186 mm
- Bill
- 40 mm
- Tarsus
- 44 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: Himalayas from northwestern India through southern China and Vietnam, Sumatra and Borneo
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 1
- Cissa chinensis chinensis Himalayas to s China, n Indochina, Thailand and Myanmar
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Crows, Jays Corvidae
- Genus
- Cissa
Other birds in the genus Cissa
Indochinese Green MagpieCissa hypoleuca
Javan Green MagpieCissa thalassina
Bornean Green MagpieCissa jefferyi
Malayan Black MagpiePlatysmurus leucopterus
Bornean Black MagpiePlatysmurus aterrimus
Siberian JayPerisoreus infaustus
Sichuan JayPerisoreus internigrans
Canada JayPerisoreus canadensis
Black-collared JayCyanolyca armillata
White-collared JayCyanolyca viridicyanus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Rejoice Gassah. ↗
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