Red-Billed Blue Magpie

Urocissa erythrorhyncha

Finally!!

Every morning they've been flocking around our bungalows, making racous calls, darting from branch to branch, teasing.... laughing.... not anymore :) I am crap at low-light photography even at the best of times (stationary objects!) so I'm pretty happy with this. Already blipped for BlipBigYear unfortuanately but certainly worthy of my blip for today.

They are big, bold, brash birds. Probably the largest bird remaining in our national park (there once used to be Great Hornbills...). They occur from the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent, and further eastwards. It ranges from the Western Himalayas eastwards into Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in evergreen forest, scrub and conifer plantations in predominantly hilly or mountainous country.

They forage both in trees and on the ground and eat a wide range of food, such as invertebrates, other small animals, fruit and some seeds. Rather naughtily it robs nests of other species for eggs and also chicks. Vocal mimicry is very apparent in this species and its calls are very varied, but the most usual are a grating rattle and a high pitched whistle a little like a flute. They breed from February to May, use a rough flimsy egg shaped nest 6-7 metres above ground and lay 3-6 eggs.

Wish I knew where they had nested around these parts!