Oriental Magpie: how to recognise it
A bird of Asia and North America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © 莲子 · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Pica serica
- Family
- Crows, Jays, and Magpies
- Size
- About 45 cm
- Habitat
- Farmland, villages and open woodland
- Found in
- Asia and North America
The key marks
Black-and-white magpie with a long tail and a mostly black rump, crossed only by a narrow greyish-white band between the white shoulder patches. Eurasian Magpie is slightly larger, with a longer tail and more white.
Voice
A harsh chattering call, much like the Eurasian Magpie's but softer.
Good to know
Its range runs from south-eastern Russia to eastern China, Korea, Taiwan and northern Indochina.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Eurasian Magpie. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in farmland, villages and open woodland. It is especially common in China. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.