Common Green Magpie

NH-B-8

Common Green Magpie

NH-B-8

Description

Scientific name: Cissa Chinensis

The common green magpie is a member of the crow family, roughly about the size of the Eurasian jay or slightly smaller. It is bright green in colour (often fades to turquoise in captivity), slightly lighter on the underside, and has a thick black stripe from its bill to the nape. The wings are reddish maroon. Due to excessive exposure to sunlight, they often appear turquoise (instead of green) in captivity. After its death, the colour of the bird changes to blue. Like other Magpies, the Green Magpies are shy birds and not easy to see.

It is found in the area starting from the lower Himalayas in northeastern India up to central Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, and north-western Borneo - in a broad south-easterly band- in evergreen forest, clearings, and scrub.

This bird finds its food both on the ground and in trees. They are carnivorous and mainly feed on arthropods and small vertebrates. It will also eat flesh from a recently killed carcass.

Green magpie builds hefty roofed nests mainly on the trees and tall bushes; often in tangles of various climbing vines. They mainly use sticks, leaves, and mud for building their bowl-shaped nest. They usually lay 4–6 eggs at a time. They are also known for their lifelong pairings.