Red-billed Chough

The Red-billed Chough is a striking, entirely glossy black corvid distinguished by its long, slender, downcurved red bill and bright red legs — features unique among the crow family in its range. Its plumage has a glossy blue-black sheen, and its build is slimmer and more streamlined than typical crows.

Choughs are renowned for their spectacular, buoyant flight, tumbling and diving along cliff faces and mountain slopes with obvious aerial skill, aided by long, broad, deeply "fingered" wingtips.

They favor rugged coastal and montane landscapes and have become emblematic birds of certain regions, such as Cornwall in England, where their return after local extinction was celebrated.

Key field marks

• Long, slender, downcurved bright red bill
• Red legs and feet
• Glossy all-black plumage
• Long, broad wings with deeply fingered primary tips, visible in flight
• Buoyant, acrobatic flight with frequent calling

Similar species

• Alpine Chough: shorter, yellow bill and shorter red legs, versus the Red-billed Chough's longer red bill; ranges overlap in some mountain areas
• Jackdaw: much shorter black bill and pale eye, lacking any red

Behavior cues

A chough's tumbling, playful flight along cliffs and its ringing "chee-ow" call are highly distinctive, aiding identification even at a distance.

Habitat

Inhabits coastal sea cliffs and rugged, short-turfed mountain and moorland habitats where it can probe the ground for invertebrates.

Range

Occurs in a scattered, disjunct distribution across western Europe (including parts of Britain, Ireland, France, and Iberia), around the Mediterranean, North Africa, and across mountainous parts of Asia to the Himalayas and China.

Migration

Generally resident, though birds may make local altitudinal movements, descending from higher mountain breeding areas in winter.

Behavior

Choughs are sociable, often seen in small flocks that perform coordinated aerial displays, tumbling and diving together near cliffs and crags.

Voice

A distinctive, ringing "chee-ow" or "kee-arr" call, higher-pitched and more musical than typical crow calls.

Feeding

Forages by probing its long curved bill into soil, dung, and short turf for invertebrates such as ants, beetle larvae, and other insects.

Nesting and breeding

Nests in crevices, caves, or old buildings on cliffs or in mountains, building a nest of sticks lined with wool or hair. Clutches typically hold 3–5 eggs.