The Red-Billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa erythrorhyncha) is a bird in the corvid family of crows and magpies.
The Red-Billed Blue Magpie has a black head, black neck, and black chest with bluish spots on its crown. Its shoulders and rump are duller blue and its underparts are greyish-cream. Its long tail is brighter blue with a broad white tip. Its undertail has white bands. Its beak is bright orange-red. Its legs, feet, and eye-rings are also orange-red.
It grows to about 40 centimetres (16 inches) tall, which is about the same size as the Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica). Its tail measures about 65 centimetres (25 inches), which is much longer than the tail of other crows and magpies.
The Red-Billed Blue Magpie is native to India, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. It prefers evergreen mountain forests and valleys.
It feeds on insects, fruit, and grains.
The Red-Billed Blue Magpie nests in trees or large shrubs. The female lays 3-5 eggs, which hatch after 17 days.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM