Iberian magpie

Bird in the crow family

Iberian magpie
In Parque natural de la Sierra de Andújar, Spain
Conservation status

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Cyanopica
Species:
C. cooki
Binomial name
Cyanopica cooki
Bonaparte, 1850
Synonyms[2]

Cyanopica cyana cooki
Cyanopica cyanus cooki

The Iberian magpie (Cyanopica cooki) is a bird in the crow family. It is 31–35 cm (12–14 in) long and similar in overall shape to the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) but is slenderer with proportionately smaller legs and bill. It belongs to the genus Cyanopica.

Taxonomy

The Iberian magpie was formally described in 1850 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte based on a specimen that had been collected by Samuel Edward Cook in Spain. Bonaparte coined the binomial name Cyanopica cooki, to replace the preoccupied Pica cyanea.[3][4][5] The specific epithet was chosen to honour the collector.[6] The type locality was restricted to Madrid by Harry Forbes Witherby in 1923.[5][7] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[8]

This taxon was formerly treated as conspecific with the azure-winged magpie (C. cyana), but this population is 5,400 miles (9,000 km) away from those in eastern Asia.[9] Genetic analysis has suggested that Iberian and azure-winged magpies are distinct species.[10][11] Other common names include Iberian azure-winged magpie,[2] Cook's azure-winged magpie, and Spanish azure-winged magpie.[9]

Description

It has a glossy black top to the head and a white throat. The underparts and the back are a light grey-fawn in colour with the wings and the feathers of the long (16–20 cm) tail are an azure blue.

Distribution and habitat

The Iberian magpie occurs in southwestern and central parts of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain and Portugal. However, it can sometimes be spotted also in south-western France,[12] and recently its presence has been reported even in north-western Italy.[13] It inhabits various types of coniferous (mainly pine) and broadleaf forest, including parks and gardens in the eastern populations.

Behaviour and ecology

Cyanopica cooki - MHNT

Often Iberian magpies find food as a family group or several groups making flocks of up to 70 birds. The largest groups congregate after the breeding season and throughout the winter months. Their diet consists mainly of acorns (oak seeds) and pine nuts, extensively supplemented by invertebrates and their larvae, soft fruits and berries, and also human-provided scraps in parks and towns.

This species usually nests in loose, open colonies with a single nest in each tree,[14] same mean clutch size is 6.2 eggs, but only 32% of nesting attempts are successful, with an average 5.1 young fledged.[15]

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International. (2017) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Cyanopica cooki". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22732302A112290599. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22732302A112290599.en. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Cyanopica cooki". Avibase.
  3. ^ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1850). Conspectus Generum Avium (in Latin). Vol. 1. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 382.
  4. ^ Gould, John (1837). The Birds of Europe. Vol. 3: Insessores. London: Published by the author. Plate 217 text.
  5. ^ a b Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 244.
  6. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. ^ Witherby, Harry Forbes (1923). "Cyanopica cyanus gili, subsp. nov". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 43: 74.
  8. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Crows, mudnesters, birds-of-paradise". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b Handbook of the Birds of the World vol 12. p. 598.
  10. ^ Fok, Koon Wah; Wade, Christopher M.; Parkin, David T. (2002). "Inferring the phylogeny of disjunct populations of the azure-winged magpie Cyanopica cyanus from mitochondrial control region sequences". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 269 (1501): 1671–1678. doi:10.1098/rspb.2002.2057. PMC 1691084. PMID 12204127.
  11. ^ Kryukov, A.; Iwasa, M. A.; Kakizawa, R.; Suzuki, H.; Pinsker, W.; Haring, E. (November 2004). "Synchronic east-west divergence in azure-winged magpies (Cyanopica cyanus) and magpies (Pica pica)". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 42 (4): 342–351. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0469.2004.00287.x.
  12. ^ "Iberian Magpie". oiseaux-birds.
  13. ^ "Gazze aliazzurre in Lombardia". YouTube.
  14. ^ Alonso, J.A.; Muñoz-Pulido, R.; Bautista, L.M.; Alonso, J.C. (1991). "Nest-site selection and nesting success in the azure-winged magpies Cyanopica cyana in central Spain" (PDF). Bird Study. 38: 45–51. doi:10.1080/00063659109477066.
  15. ^ Muñoz-Pulido, R.; Bautista, L.M.; Alonso, J.C.; Alonso, J.A. (1990). "Breeding success of azure-winged magpies Cyanopica cyana in central Spain" (PDF). Bird Study. 37: 111–114. doi:10.1080/00063659009477046.
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Extant species of family Corvidae
Family Corvidae
Choughs
Pyrrhocorax
  • Alpine chough (P. graculus)
  • Red-billed chough (P. pyrrhocorax)
Treepies
Crypsirina
  • Hooded treepie (C. cucullata)
  • Black racket-tailed treepie (C. temia)
Dendrocitta
  • Andaman treepie (D. bayleyi)
  • Bornean treepie (D. cinerascens)
  • Grey treepie (D. formosae)
  • Black-faced treepie (D. frontalis)
  • White-bellied treepie (D. leucogastra)
  • Sumatran treepie (D. occipitalis)
  • Rufous treepie (D. vagabunda)
Platysmurus
  • Malayan black magpie (P. leucopterus)
  • Bornean black magpie (P. aterrimus)
Temnurus
  • Ratchet-tailed treepie (T. temnurus)
Oriental
magpies
Cissa
  • Common green magpie (C. chinensis)
  • Indochinese green magpie (C. hypoleuca)
  • Bornean green magpie (C. jefferyi)
  • Javan green magpie (C. thalassina)
Urocissa
  • Taiwan blue magpie (U. caerulea)
  • Red-billed blue magpie (U. erythrorhyncha)
  • Yellow-billed blue magpie (U. flavirostris)
  • Sri Lanka blue magpie (U. ornata)
  • White-winged magpie (U. whiteheadi)
Old World jays
Garrulus
  • Eurasian jay (G. glandarius)
  • Lanceolated jay (G. lanceolatus)
  • Lidth's jay (G. lidthi)
Podoces
(Ground jays)
  • Xinjiang ground jay (P. biddulphi)
  • Mongolian ground jay (P. hendersoni)
  • Turkestan ground jay (P. panderi)
  • Iranian ground jay (P. pleskei)
Ptilostomus
  • Piapiac (P. afer)
Stresemann's
bushcrow
Zavattariornis
  • Stresemann's bushcrow (Z. stresemanni)
Family Corvidae (continued)
Nutcrackers
Nucifraga
  • Spotted nutcracker (N. caryocatactes)
  • Clark's nutcracker (N. columbiana)
  • Kashmir nutcracker (N. multipunctata)
Holarctic
magpies
Pica
  • Black-billed magpie (P. hudsonia)
  • Yellow-billed magpie (P. nuttalli)
  • Eurasian magpie (P. pica)
  • Oriental magpie (P. sericea)
  • Maghreb magpie (P. mauritanica)
  • Asir magpie (P. asirensis)
  • Black-rumped magpie (P. bottanensis)
True crows
Corvus
Australian and Melanesian species
Little crow (C. bennetti)
Australian raven (C. coronoides)
Bismarck crow (C. insularis)
Brown-headed crow (C. fuscicapillus)
Bougainville crow (C. meeki)
Little raven (C. mellori)
New Caledonian crow (C. moneduloides)
Torresian crow (C. orru)
Forest raven (C. tasmanicus)
Grey crow (C. tristis)
Long-billed crow (C. validus)
White-billed crow (C. woodfordi)
Pacific island species
Hawaiian crow (C. hawaiiensis)
Mariana crow (C. kubaryi)
Tropical Asian species
Slender-billed crow (C. enca)
Small crow (C. samarensis)
Palawan crow (C. pusillus)
Flores crow (C. florensis)
Large-billed crow (C. macrorhynchos)
Eastern jungle crow (C. levaillantii)
Indian jungle crow (C. culminatus)
House crow (C. splendens)
Collared crow (C. torquatus)
Piping crow (C. typicus)
Banggai crow (C. unicolor)
Violet crow (C. violaceus)
Eurasian and North African species
Mesopotamian crow (C. capellanus)
Hooded crow (C. cornix)
Carrion crow (C. corone)
Rook (C. frugilegus)
Eastern carrion crow (C. orientalis)
Fan-tailed raven (C. rhipidurus)
Brown-necked raven (C. ruficollis)
Holarctic species
Common raven (C. corax)
North and Central American species
American crow (C. brachyrhynchos)
Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus)
Tamaulipas crow (C. imparatus)
Jamaican crow (C. jamaicensis)
White-necked crow (C. leucognaphalus)
Cuban palm crow (C. minutus)
Cuban crow (C. nasicus)
Fish crow (C. ossifragus)
Hispaniolan palm crow (C. palmarum)
Sinaloan crow (C. sinaloae)
Tropical African species
White-necked raven (C. albicollis)
Pied crow (C. albus)
Cape crow (C. capensis)
Thick-billed raven (C. crassirostris)
Somali crow (C. edithae)
Jackdaws
Coloeus
Family Corvidae (continued)
Azure-winged
magpies
Cyanopica
  • Iberian magpie (C. cooki)
  • Azure-winged magpie (C. cyanus)
Grey jays
Perisoreus
  • Canada jay (P. canadensis)
  • Siberian jay (P. infaustus)
  • Sichuan jay (P. internigrans)
New World jays
Aphelocoma
(Scrub jays)
  • California scrub jay (A. californica)
  • Island scrub jay (A. insularis)
  • Woodhouse's scrub jay (A. woodhouseii)
  • Florida scrub jay (A. coerulescens)
  • Transvolcanic jay (A. ultramarina)
  • Unicolored jay (A. unicolor)
  • Mexican jay (A. wollweberi)
Calocitta
(Magpie-Jays)
  • Black-throated magpie-jay (C. colliei)
  • White-throated Magpie-jay (C. formosa)
Cyanocitta
  • Blue jay (C. cristata)
  • Steller's jay (C. stelleri)
Cyanocorax
  • Black-chested jay (C. affinis)
  • Purplish-backed jay (C. beecheii)
  • Azure jay (C. caeruleus)
  • Cayenne jay (C. cayanus)
  • Plush-crested jay (C. chrysops)
  • Curl-crested jay (C. cristatellus)
  • Purplish jay (C. cyanomelas)
  • White-naped jay (C. cyanopogon)
  • Tufted jay (C. dickeyi)
  • Azure-naped jay (C. heilprini)
  • Bushy-crested jay (C. melanocyaneus)
  • Brown jay (C. morio)
  • White-tailed jay (C. mystacalis)
  • San Blas jay (C. sanblasianus)
  • Violaceous jay (C. violaceus)
  • Green jay (C. ynca)
  • Yucatan jay (C. yucatanicus)
Cyanolyca
  • Silvery-throated jay (C. argentigula)
  • Black-collared jay (C. armillata)
  • Azure-hooded jay (C. cucullata)
  • White-throated jay (C. mirabilis)
  • Dwarf jay (C. nana)
  • Beautiful jay (C. pulchra)
  • Black-throated jay (C. pumilo)
  • Turquoise jay (C. turcosa)
  • White-collared jay (C. viridicyana)
Gymnorhinus
  • Pinyon jay (G. cyanocephalus)
Taxon identifiers
Cyanopica cooki