Eurasian magpie
Pica pica
A black-and-white crow with a long graduated tail and noisy chatter. Confirmed in Georgia as a year-round resident on the 2024 national bird checklist.
Overview
What is Eurasian magpie
The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is a medium-sized crow confirmed in Georgia as a year-round resident. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia codes it YR-R: a breeder present throughout the year. Seasonality is classed as high-quality (code A). Occurrence quality is high (H), with photographic evidence. The usual Georgian name is კაჭკაჭი. Adults are about 44–46 cm long at species level, roughly half of that length being the tail; the plumage is black and white with blue-green iridescence on the wings and tail. It is not a threat to people. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. The 2024 checklist assigns the same category nationally.
Last updated
Gallery
Eurasian magpie in photos
Photo: Diego Delso
Almuradiel, Ciudad Real ·
Photo: Alexis Lours
Gennevilliers ·
Photo: Diego Delso
Almuradiel, Ciudad Real ·
Photo: Charles J. Sharp
Cumnor Hill, Oxford ·
Photo: Lystopad
Kharkiv ·
Identification
How to identify Eurasian magpie
A black-and-white crow with a long graduated tail, white scapular patches and belly, and iridescent blue-green wing and tail gloss. The call is a harsh chatter. In Georgia no other resident bird matches this combination.
- 01
Length about 44–46 cm at species level, of which the tail is a large share; wingspan often given around 52–60 cm; mass commonly about 180–270 g. A separate measured series from Georgia is not given on this page. Sexes look alike; males are on average slightly larger.
- 02
Adult plumage is boldly pied: black head, breast and upperparts with white scapular patches and a white belly; the wings and long graduated tail show blue, green or purple iridescence in good light. The bill and legs are black. Juveniles are duller, with less gloss and a shorter tail until the first full moult.
- 03
Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) is greyer on the body, lacks the long pied graduated tail and white scapular blocks, and has a deeper caw. Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) is mainly rufous-pink with a blue wing panel and a short white rump, not a long black-and-white tail. Rook and raven are largely black without the magpie’s white belly and scapulars; common raven (Corvus corax) is much larger, with a heavy bill and a wedge-shaped tail — see that species page in this atlas. Black-billed magpie of North America (Pica hudsonia) and Oriental magpie (Pica serica) do not occur in Georgia. This atlas does not yet have separate pages for hooded crow or jay.
- 04
It is harmless to people. A noisy black-and-white bird with a long tail in a Georgian park, farmland edge or village tree is usually this species.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
This page does not colour a municipality-by-municipality map. The 2024 checklist confirms country-level resident status but does not publish a regional gazetteer. Do not assume it occurs evenly across Georgia, including dense high-mountain forest and treeless alpine plateaus. A named locality is Chachuna Managed Reserve (Dedoplistskaro Municipality): the Agency of Protected Areas lists magpie among the birds of the reserve. Tbilisi National Park appears on Avibase regional checklists with the species; that is a checklist entry, not a mapped density. Older Georgian encyclopaedia text describes open scrub, woodland edge and floodplain woods and states that in eastern Georgia it is resident while in some western localities it may be mainly a winter visitor — that finer east–west pattern is not confirmed by the 2024 checklist’s country-level YR-R code. At species level it uses open or semi-open country with trees: farmland, orchards, parks, gardens, riparian belts and settlement greenery; it usually avoids dense closed forest and large open wetlands without perches. A separate national elevation band for Georgia is not published here.
Diet
There is no separate weighed Georgian diet study on this page. Across the range it is an opportunist omnivore: invertebrates, small vertebrates, eggs and nestlings of other birds, carrion, fruit, seeds, and food scraps near people. It often forages on the ground in short hops and walks, and may take nest contents in the breeding season. It is not food for people.
Behavior
It is active by day and is often heard before it is seen. The usual call is a harsh, rapid metallic chatter; alarm calls are loud and repetitive. The clip on this page is xeno-canto XC707401 (Sonothèque ADVL / Corentin Rivière, Vains, Manche, France; CC0). Flight is a flap-and-glide with the long tail trailing; birds often fly fairly low. On the ground they walk and hop with the tail often cocked. Pairs hold territories; loose groups may gather where food is concentrated. The nest is typically a bulky stick structure, often with a roofed dome and side entrances, in a tall tree or, where trees are scarce, on a pylon or similar support. Species-level clutches are commonly about five to seven eggs, with incubation of roughly two and a half to three weeks; those figures are from the wider range, not a Georgian nest sample on this page. The 2024 checklist treats the species as a breeding resident in Georgia. Long-distance migration is not typical; movements, where they occur, are usually short. Old magpie nests may later be used by other birds; tawny owl (Strix aluco) sometimes uses them — see that page in this atlas. Do not handle wild birds.
Conservation
BirdLife International assesses Pica pica as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The 2024 Georgian bird checklist assigns global and national Red List category LC. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Government Resolution No. 190). European Red List of Birds supplementary data report a Georgian breeding estimate of about 9,700–97,200 pairs for 2013–2017 (partial method; short- and long-term trends listed as deficient), prepared for EBBA by SABUKO, Ilia State University and NGO Psovi. That is a wide interval, not a precise census. A current national trend series is not given on this page. At species level, local persecution and nest predation of other birds can cause conflict with people; that is not ranked here as a measured Georgian population driver. Do not catch wild birds without a permit.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Eurasian magpie.
Yes. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia lists it as a confirmed year-round resident (YR-R).
In open or semi-open places with trees: farmland, parks, gardens, riparian belts and settlements. It is named for Chachuna Managed Reserve. This page does not map every region.
Black-and-white plumage, long graduated iridescent tail, white scapular patches and belly, and a harsh chatter. Hooded crow and jay lack this combination.
About 44–46 cm at species level, with a long tail making up much of that length. A separate measured series from Georgia is not given on this page.
Omnivorous: invertebrates, small vertebrates, eggs and nestlings, carrion, fruit, seeds and scraps. Diet has not been weighed separately in Georgia on this page.
All year as a resident breeder, according to the 2024 checklist.
Yes. YR-R on the 2024 checklist means resident breeder. Nests are bulky stick structures, often domed, in trees or similar supports.
It is harmless to people. It is globally Least Concern and coded LC nationally on the 2024 checklist. It is not on the 2014 Georgian Red List. Do not catch wild birds.
- Budagashvili & Javakhishvili 2024 — The birds of Georgia (Sandgrouse 46)
- BirdLife International 2021 — European Red List of Birds (Pica pica supplementary)
- APA — ჩაჩუნას აღკვეთილი — ბიომრავალფეროვნება
- Avibase — Tbilisi National Park bird checklist
- ქართული ენციკლოპედია — კაჭკაჭი
- BirdLife DataZone — Eurasian Magpie
- IUCN Red List — Pica pica
- IOC World Bird List
- Avibase — Georgia bird checklist
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- Madge, Christie & Kirwan — Birds of the World (Pica pica)
- Cornell All About Birds — Eurasian Magpie
- Wikimedia Commons — Almuradiel DD 04 (Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Almuradiel DD 20 (Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — iridescence (Alexis Lours, CC BY 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Cumnor Hill (Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — juvenile, Kharkiv (Lystopad, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- xeno-canto XC707401 — Pica pica (Sonothèque ADVL / Corentin Rivière, CC0)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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