Eurasian magpie

The Eurasian magpie, also called the common magpie, is a bird that lives and breeds year-round across the northern part of Eurasia. It belongs to the crow family, a group of birds known as corvids, and is part of a Holarctic group of "monochrome" magpies. In Europe, English speakers often use "magpie" to mean this species specifically. It is among the most intelligent birds: the relative size of its nidopallium is similar to that of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and humans, and it is one of the few bird species that can recognize itself in a mirror.

The magpie was first described and illustrated in 1555 by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in his *Historiae animalium*. In 1758, Linnaeus included it in the 10th edition of his *Systema Naturae* under the name *Corvus pica*. The French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson moved it to its own genus, *Pica*, in 1760. *Pica* is the Classical Latin word for this magpie.

The Eurasian magpie looks nearly identical to the North American black-billed magpie, and the two were once considered the same species. Because *Pica pica* was named in 1758, earlier than *Pica hudsonia* in 1823, that name was used when they were combined. In 2000, the American Ornithologists' Union split them, deciding the black-billed magpie is more closely related to the yellow-billed magpie than to the Eurasian magpie, based on studies of their calls and behavior.

Because the magpie’s appearance changes gradually across its large range, and different subspecies intergrade, the boundaries and acceptance of subspecies vary among experts. The International Ornithological Congress recognizes six subspecies (a seventh, *P. p. hemileucoptera*, is included in *P. p. bactriana*): *P. p. fennorum* (northern Scandinavia and northwest Russia); *P. p. pica* (British Isles, southern Scandinavia east to Russia, south to the Mediterranean, including most islands); *P. p. melanotos* (Iberian Peninsula); *P. p. bactriana* (Siberia east to Lake Baikal, south to the Caucasus, Iraq, Iran, Central Asia, and Pakistan); *P. p. leucoptera* (southeast Russia and northeast China); and *P. p. camtschatica* (northern Sea of Okhotsk and the Kamchatka Peninsula). Others are now considered separate species: the Maghreb magpie in North Africa, the Asir magpie in southwest Saudi Arabia, the Oriental magpie in east and south China, Taiwan, and parts of Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, and the black-rumped magpie in west central China. A study using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA found that magpies in eastern and northeastern China are genetically very similar to each other but differ from those in northwestern China and Spain.

The birds were originally called simply "pies," from the French *pie* and Latin *pica*. The Latin name may come from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)peyk-*, meaning "woodpecker, magpie, other birds," possibly linked to *spey-* ("long, thin, sharp") for their beaks or tails. The "mag" prefix appeared in the 16th century, first in English as "magot pie" in Shakespeare’s 1606 play *Macbeth*, and earlier in French as *margot la pie* in 1573. It may come from the name Margaret, once used to refer to women in general (like Joe or Jack for men); the magpie’s call was thought to sound like idle female chatter, so it became the "Mag pie." "Pie" as a bird name dates to the 13th century, and "pied," first recorded in 1552, was used for other black-and-white birds.

The adult male of the nominate subspecies, *P. p. pica*, is 44–46 cm long, more than half of which is the tail. Its wingspan is 52–62 cm. The head, neck, breast, and vent are glossy black with a metallic green and violet sheen; the belly and shoulder feathers are pure white. The wings are black with green or purple gloss, and the primary feathers have white inner webs, visible when the wing is open. The graduated tail is black with green and reddish purple gloss. The legs and bill are black; the iris is dark brown. The rump is black with a white stripe above, which varies in thickness among subspecies. Males and females look alike, but females are slightly smaller. Tail feathers are 12–28 cm long. Males weigh 210–272 g, females 182–214 g. Young birds resemble adults but lack the glossy, sooty plumage; they have a pink area near the cheek, somewhat clear eyes, and a shorter tail. Different subspecies vary in size, amount of white, and the color of the gloss on black feathers. The Asian subspecies *P. p. bactriana* has more white on its primary feathers and a more noticeable white rump. Adults undergo a complete moult.