Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Russian Black-Billed Magpie

The Russian black-billed magpie (pica pica bactriana) is one of ten subspecies of the Eurasian magpie. It is found in Siberia east to Lake Baikal, then south to the Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Central Asia. We saw them several times in Central Asia and photographed them in Uzbekistan. 
This is a distribution of the subspecies of the Eurasian magpie. The Russian black-tailed subspecies or bactriana is in yellow. Map from Wikipedia. 
Note the green on the wings and tail, as well as a purplish blue on the wings. 
It has black: (a) legs and bill; (b) glossy head, neck and breast with metallic green and violet sheen; (c) glossed wings with green or purple; and (d) glossed tail with green and reddish purple. It has white: (a) belly and shoulder feathers; and (b) primary feathers. This subspecies is distinguished by more white on the primary feathers and a prominent white rump.   
Vivid color on the wings and tail: a metallic blue or aqua and green on the tail. 
White primaries (wings) visible with the wing open. 
It is one of the most intelligent birds and one of the most intelligent of non-human animals. 
A blurry view, but my only one that is a side shot. 

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful markings. You have an amazing eye for wildlife.

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