Eurasian Magpie (Pica) [XC879895]
by Pere Josa from Berkel en Rodenrijs, Lansingerland, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands (call)
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) [XC816845]
by Gunnar Dolk from Arrondissement d'Avranches (near Jullouville), Manche, Normandy, France (call, bavardage;cri juv\u00e9nil)
Nest
A dome of twigs, lined with mud and then softer materials, near the top of a tree.
Eggs (Guide)
5 - 7; variable, blue or olive or greenish, speckled olive-brown.
Several subspecies possibly warrant elevation to species rank: northern African mauritanica may have reached species level, but Spanish melanotos approaches it in several respects and may be more closely allied to it than to nominate subspecies. Distinctive camtschatica of north-eastern Siberia is also isolated, while bottanensis of Tibetan region differs strongly from neighbouring forms, but is said to intergrade with anderssoni in north of its range. South-eastern Asian serica exhibits interesting similarity to European subspecies, although it seems that such superficial similarity may not be supported by findings of DNA studies.
Many intergrading populations exist. A number of other subspecies have been described, but situation complicated by intermediates (e.g. anderssoni is possibly an intermediate series of populations): galliae (from France) and germanica (Germany) are included in nominate subspecies; kot (eastern Ukraine), laubmanni (Kelat, in Pakistan) and hemileucoptera (central Siberia) in bactriana; japonica (Japan), amurensis (near Khabarovsk, in Ussuriland) and jankowskii (near Vladivostok) in anderssoni; and hainana (Hainan I) and alashanica (Ala Shan, in central China) in serica. Subspecies serica often misspelt "sericea".
The following 10 subspecies are recognised:
fennorum Lönnberg, 1927 - Northern Scandinavia, Finland and north-eastern Baltic region east to western Siberia.
pica (Linnaeus, 1758) - From British Is and southern Scandinavia east to eastern Europe, south to Mediterranean, including most islands.
melanotos Brehm, AE, 1857 - Iberian Peninsula.
mauritanica Malherbe, 1845 - Northern Africa (Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica).
bactriana Bonaparte, 1850 - Siberia east to L Baikal, south to Caucasus, Iraq, Iran, central Asia and Pakistan.
leucoptera Gould, 1862 - Southern Transbaikalia (Russia), Mongolia and north-eastern China (Inner Mongolia and north-western Heilongjiang.
camtschatica Stejneger, 1884 - Northern Sea of Okhotsk, Kamchatka and Anadyrland (in Russian Far East).
anderssoni Lönnberg, 1923 - South-eastern Russia (Ussuriland), extreme north-eastern China and Korea. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Oriental Magpie (Pica serica).
bottanensis Delessert, 1840 - West-central China (Qinghai and western Sichuan south to southern and eastern Xizang) and central Bhutan. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Black-rumped Magpie (Pica bottanensis).
serica Gould, 1845 - Eastern and southern China, Taiwan, northern Myanmar, northern Laos and northern Vietnam. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Oriental Magpie (Pica serica). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Oriental Magpie (Pica serica).
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet