Eurasian Magpie
Pica pica
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyCorvidae (Crows, Jays, and Magpies)
- GenusPica (True Magpies)
- SpeciesPica pica (Eurasian Magpie)
About the Eurasian Magpie
The Eurasian magpie or common magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout the northern part of the Eurasian continent. It is one of several birds in the crow family (corvids) that are designated as magpies, and it belongs to the Holarctic radiation of "monochrome" magpies. In Europe, the term "magpie" is used by English speakers as a synonym for the Eurasian magpie; the only other species of magpie in Europe is the Iberian magpie (Cyanopica cooki), which is restricted to the Iberian Peninsula. Despite sharing a name and similar colouration, they are not closely related to the Australian magpie, which is an artamid, only sharing the same clade (Corvides).
The Eurasian magpie is one of the most intelligent birds. The expansion of its nidopallium is approximately the same in its relative size as the brains of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans. It is one of the few bird species known to pass the mirror test.
The magpie was first described and illustrated by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in his Historiae animalium of 1555. In 1758, Linnaeus included the species in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Ecrins National Park
Carrion Crow
Corvus corone
Alpine Chough
Pyrrhocorax graculus
Common Raven
Corvus corax
Eurasian Jay
Garrulus glandarius
Red-billed Chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
Eurasian Nutcracker
Nucifraga caryocatactes
Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
Coal Tit
Periparus ater
Eurasian Blackbird
Turdus merula
Eurasian Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelis
Blackcap
Sylvia atricapilla
European Robin
Erithacus rubecula
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Eurasian Magpie in Ecrins National Park?
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Magpie sighting in Ecrins National Park, based on 77 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Eurasian Magpie in Ecrins National Park?
October has the highest sighting rate for Eurasian Magpie in Ecrins National Park in our monthly data.