Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus)

Azure-winged Magpie

The Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus) is a medium-sized bird native to much of eastern Asia including most of China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and southern Siberia. The birds inhabit woodlands (e.g., pine and broadleaf forests), but are also common in parks and gardens. They generally occur in groups looking for nuts, acorns, berries, fruits, as well as small invertebrates. The species has been treated as conspecific with the Iberian Magpie found in Spain and Portugal, but since both populations are several thousand kilometres apart and show considerable genetic differences, some authors consider them as separate species. I have photographed these pretty birds during a visit to the Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing, China, in August 2015.