Pica serica
The Oriental Magpie, *Pica serica*, is a striking medium-sized corvid, renowned for its intelligence and bold, contrasting black and white plumage. Measuring approximately 44-50 cm in length, with a long, graduated tail accounting for over half its body, and weighing 200-250 grams, it is easily identifiable. Its head, nape, throat, upper breast, back, rump, and primary flight feathers are a glossy black, while its belly, flanks, scapulars, and a patch on the inner webs of its outer primaries ...
Highly adaptable, the Oriental Magpie thrives in open country, cultivated fields, urban parks, gardens, and woodlands, often in close proximity to human settlements.
Omnivorous and opportunistic, their diet primarily consists of insects, small vertebrates, bird eggs and nestlings, carrion, grains, fruits, seeds, and human food scraps, often foraged from the ground or from trees.
Oriental Magpies are diurnal and highly active, known for their opportunistic foraging and often congregating in large, communal roosts outside the breeding season. During breeding, they become fiercely territorial, with pairs defending a home range that can vary in size depending on resource ava...
The Oriental Magpie is widely distributed across East Asia, primarily as a resident species with little to no migratory movements. Its core breeding range encompasses much of mainland China, extending south into northern Vietnam and northern Myanmar, and north into parts of the Russian Far East (...
Least Concern
- The Oriental Magpie is considered one of the most intelligent bird species, capable of complex problem-solving and tool use. - Studies have shown they can recognize themselves in a mirror, a rare trait shared by only a few animal species. - Their elaborate, domed nests are often built with a st...