Alpine Chough
Pyrrhocorax graculus
黄嘴山鸦
Introduction
A bird in the crow family (Corvidae), one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. It breeds in high mountains from Spain eastwards through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia and Nepal. This species may nest at a higher altitude than any other bird, with eggs having adaptations to thin atmosphere that improve oxygen uptake and reduce water loss. It has glossy black plumage, a yellow beak, red legs, and distinctive rippling calls. The bird is socially monogamous and shows fidelity to breeding sites, typically caves or crevices in cliff faces. It forages in flocks on grazed grassland, taking invertebrates in summer and fruit in winter, and readily approaches tourist sites for supplementary food. The species is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, though climate change may present long-term threats by shifting Alpine habitat to higher altitudes.
Description
A medium-sized crow with glossy black plumage overall. Adults have a short yellow bill, dark brown irises, and bright red legs. The nominate subspecies measures 37–39 cm in length with a 75–85 cm wingspan, a 12–14 cm tail, and weighs 188–252 g. It has a proportionally longer tail and shorter wings than the similar red-billed chough. The sexes are identical in appearance, though males average slightly larger. Juveniles are duller than adults with a dull yellow bill and brownish legs. The flight is buoyant and acrobatic with loose, deep wing beats.
Identification
Unlikely to be confused with any other species within its range. The jackdaw is smaller and has unglossed grey plumage lacking the glossy black appearance. The red-billed chough has a long curved red bill rather than the short yellow one of this species. In flight, it shows less rectangular wings and a longer, less square-ended tail compared to the red-billed chough. The rippling preep and whistled sweeeooo calls are quite different from the crow-like chee-ow vocalizations of jackdaws and red-billed choughs.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds in mountains from Spain eastward through southern Europe and the Alps across Central Asia and the Himalayas to western China. Also occurs in Morocco, Corsica and Crete. It is a non-migratory resident throughout its range, though Moroccan birds have established a colony near Málaga in southern Spain. Breeding occurs at high altitudes: 1,260–2,880 m in Europe, 2,880–3,900 m in Morocco, and 3,500–5,000 m in the Himalayas. The highest nesting record is 6,500 m, higher than any other bird species. It nests in cavities and fissures on inaccessible rock faces and forages in alpine meadows, scree slopes, and around human settlements including ski resorts and hotels.
Behavior & Ecology
Socially monogamous with high partner fidelity from year to year. Nesting begins in early May in cliff crevices, caves, or abandoned buildings. The bulky stick nest is lined with grass or hair and contains 3–5 whitish eggs blotched with brown, incubated by the female for 14–21 days. Chicks fledge after 29–31 days and are fed by both parents. Summer diet consists mainly of invertebrates from pasture, while autumn and winter diet shifts to berries, rose hips, and cultivated fruits. Forages in flocks, which are larger in winter, and readily supplements diet with tourist-provided food. Feeding areas change seasonally with altitude, and birds may travel up to 20 km and 1,600 m in altitude during foraging trips. Calls include a rippling preep, whistled sweeeooo, and a rolling churr alarm call.
Conservation
Evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List with an extensive range estimated at 1–10 million square kilometers and a large population including 260,000–620,000 individuals in Europe. While globally stable, some local populations have declined due to agricultural intensification and loss of open grassland habitat. In Bulgaria, breeding sites fell from 77 to just 14 between 1981 and 2006. Populations are stable where traditional pastoral practices persist but declining in areas of intensive farming. Threats include pesticide accumulation in soils, ski resort development on alpine meadows, and climate change which may shift suitable habitat to higher, more restricted elevations. The species is also subject to predation by peregrine falcons, golden eagles, and ravens, and parasitism by various fleas and lice.
Culture
The English name 'chough' originally derived as an onomatopoeic alternative name for the western jackdaw based on its call. The name later transferred to the red-billed chough, which was once common in Cornwall and known as the 'Cornish chough', eventually becoming just 'chough'. The genus name Pyrrhocorax comes from Greek, meaning 'flame-coloured raven', while the species epithet graculus is Latin for jackdaw. The Alpine chough's practice of waiting by hotel windows for food is a popular tourist attraction in mountain regions, though hotel owners have mixed reactions to this behavior.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Pyrrhocorax
- eBird Code
- yebcho1
Vocalizations
Subspecies (3)
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Pyrrhocorax graculus digitatus
southern and southeastern Türkiye, southward to Lebanon and Mount Hermon, eastward across northern Iraq to southwestern Iran (Zagros Mountains)
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Pyrrhocorax graculus forsythi
central Asia from central and northern Afghanistan northeast through the Pamirs and patchily on through the Tien Shan and Altai to Sayan Mountains and, in south, from west-central and northern Pakistan (including an isolated population in northern Baluchistan) east in Himalayas to Nepal, Bhutan, and far western Arunachal Pradesh, and central and southwestern China
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Pyrrhocorax graculus graculus
mountains of Europe, North Africa, Caucasus, and southern Caspian area
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.