Oriental Magpie

Pica serica Gould, 1845

≈43 cmLength218 gWeight

It is a black-and-white bird about 45 cm in body length, with a purple-blue metallic gloss on the back and tail.

Busiest months: October–January and April–May · Most records: China, South Korea, Russia

Looks like Eurasian Magpie, Oriental Magpie-Robin

How to identify

Field marks

Strong purple-blue iridescent sheen on the back, tail and flight feathers
Rump mostly black, with a narrow band that often appears grayish-white
About 45 cm long, with a proportionately shorter tail than Eurasian Magpie

Voice

Similar to Eurasian Magpie, but noticeably softer.

Similar species

Eurasian Magpie

Slightly smaller than Eurasian Magpie, with a relatively shorter tail, relatively longer bill and legs, darker plumage and less white.

Oriental Magpie-Robin

Oriental Magpie-Robin is also a black-and-white, long-tailed bird and is often mistaken for Oriental Magpie, but its body length is only about 20 cm.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: October–January and April–May · Most records: China, South Korea, Russia

Oriental Magpie has been recorded at 1,297 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 8 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Taipei – National Taiwan University Main CampusTaiwan (China)4,168 records
Huajiang IBA – Huajiang Wild Duck Nature Park (Huajiang to Zhongxing Bridge)Taiwan (China)3,589 records
Taipei – Da'an Forest ParkTaiwan (China)2,179 records

More places

Mai Po Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)2,009 records
Shahe ReservoirChina1,736 records
Taipei – Beitou Guizikeng Drainage CanalTaiwan (China)1,635 records
Hsinchu Coast IBA – GangnanTaiwan (China)1,439 records
Kinmen – Lake Ci Fishponds Birding AreaChina1,384 records
Kinmen – Botanical GardenChina1,362 records
Nanhui DongtanChina1,325 records

Countries and regions with the most records

China South Korea Russia Japan Mongolia Myanmar (Burma)Thailand Vietnam

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 Oriental magpie (Pica serica) is a species of magpie found from southeastern Russia to eastern China, Korea, Taiwan (China), and northern Indochina and Myanmar. It is also naturalised in Japan. Other names include Korean magpie, Chinese magpie and Asian magpie.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Oriental Magpie?

The Oriental Magpie is about ≈43 cm long and weighs around 218 g.

Where does the Oriental Magpie live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: southeastern Russia and Myanmar to eastern China, Taiwan (China) and northern Indochina. It is most often recorded in China, South Korea and Russia.