Crows and jays · Perching birds
Red-billed Chough
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Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
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Voice
Call
Call
Song
How to recognize it
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36–42 cm long
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Glossy coal-black plumage, long red bill curved downward
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Red legs; at high altitude, nearly rectangular wings
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Loud, ringing call, a sharp "chee-ow" falling at the end
About the species
At a distance, the Red-billed Chough looks black, but its feathers can flash green or blue in good light. Its long, curved red bill and red legs stand out against the dark plumage, and its broad wings spread wide in flight. Where their ranges overlap, the Alpine Chough has a short yellow bill instead.
A sharp, ringing “chee-ow” carries across the cliffs. Outside the breeding season, choughs gather in large flocks, while pairs tend to keep the same mate and nesting site from year to year.
It lives on mountain slopes and coastal cliffs, nesting in rock crevices and feeding over short, grazed grass. Insects, spiders and other invertebrates make up most of its food; it picks them from the surface or probes the soil with its curved bill. It stays in its range year-round, though in winter it may move to lower slopes.
Where to find
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On coastal cliffs in western Europe, look toward the crevices during the breeding season: the Red-billed Chough nests there.
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On the short grazed grassland beside those cliffs, watch a long red bill search the ground for insects and other invertebrates.
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In Mongolian towns during the breeding season, scan building facades for a red bill appearing at a gap used as a nest.
