Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Red-billed Chough

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax (Linnaeus, 1758)

≈45 cmLength82 cmWingspan277 gWeight

It is jet-black overall, with a long, curved, bright red bill and red feet.

Busiest months: October · Most records: Spain, Portugal, China

Looks like Alpine Chough, Western Jackdaw

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Black overall with metallic gloss
  2. Bill long, curved and bright red
  3. Legs and feet red
  4. Flight buoyant, with the primaries widely spread

Male, female and young

Sexes similar; juveniles have an orange bill and pink feet until their first autumn.

Voice

A loud, clear “chee-ow”, clearer and louder than the call of Western Jackdaw.

Similar species

Alpine Chough
Alpine Chough

Alpine Chough has a short yellow bill; in flight its wings are less square and its tail is longer, with a less square tip.

Western Jackdaw
Western Jackdaw

Western Jackdaw is smaller, with gray plumage lacking metallic gloss.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: October · Most records: Spain, Portugal, China

Red-billed Chough has been recorded at 455 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 29 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. PN Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina – CabranosaPortugal1,910 records
  2. PN Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina – Vale SantoPortugal1,086 records
  3. Vallée d'OukaïmedenMorocco1,065 records
More places
  1. SkokholmUnited Kingdom1,000 records
  2. LangnessIsle of Man912 records
  3. Casares – CastilloSpain751 records
  4. Calf of ManIsle of Man741 records
  5. Laguna de Pitillas RN – AreaSpain660 records
  6. PN Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina – Ponta da AtalaiaPortugal565 records
  7. Aras Kuş Halkalama İstasyonuTürkiye436 records

Countries and regions with the most records

SpainPortugalChinaIsle of ManMongoliaBhutanIrelandMorocco

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 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.

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

Questions

How big is the Red-billed Chough?

The Red-billed Chough is about ≈45 cm long, with a wingspan of 82 cm and weighs around 277 g.

Where does the Red-billed Chough live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: widespread, also northwestern, northeastern Africa. It is most often recorded in Spain, Portugal and China.

When is the best time to see the Red-billed Chough?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in October (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Red-billed Chough endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Red-billed Chough as Least Concern.

What does the Red-billed Chough eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Red-billed Chough in?

It belongs to the family Crows, Jays (Corvidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈45 cm
Wingspan
82 cm
Weight
277 g
Habitat
Rocky terrain
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Partial migrant
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
284 mm
Tail
133 mm
Bill
55 mm
Tarsus
52 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: widespread, also northwestern, northeastern Africa

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2
  • Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax himalayanus Himalayas, n India and w China
  • Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax brachypus ne, e China

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Crows, Jays Corvidae
Genus
Pyrrhocorax

Other birds in the genus Pyrrhocorax

Alpine ChoughAlpine ChoughPyrrhocorax graculusMalayan Black MagpieMalayan Black MagpiePlatysmurus leucopterusBornean Black MagpieBornean Black MagpiePlatysmurus aterrimusSiberian JaySiberian JayPerisoreus infaustusSichuan JaySichuan JayPerisoreus internigransCanada JayCanada JayPerisoreus canadensisBlack-collared JayBlack-collared JayCyanolyca armillataWhite-collared JayWhite-collared JayCyanolyca viridicyanusTurquoise JayTurquoise JayCyanolyca turcosaBeautiful JayBeautiful JayCyanolyca pulchra
Red-billed Chough

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Alun Williams333. ↗

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