Iberian Magpie Cyanopica cooki Scientific name definitions

34–36 cm; 65–76 g. Unmistakable within its range, where combination of black hood , greyish-brown mantle and blue wings and tail distinctive; head relatively large, slightly ruffled on nape, wings relatively short and broad, long tail quite broad and strongly graduated, bill rather small and pointed, nasal tufts short and dense, legs relatively short and not very sturdy. Has black hood down to below eye, ear-coverts and nape, glossed purplish on crown and nape, contrasting with white throat and malar region, highlighting very narrow pale collar on lower nape bordering hood; upperparts to uppertail-coverts grey-brown, tinged pinkish, uppertail-coverts also washed blue; upperwing blue (cerulean or azure), remiges with inner web dull black, outer web azure-blue, white tip to outer web of primaries, increasing in extent outwards towards outermost primaries; tail uniform cerulean or azure-blue with horn-coloured feather shafts; underparts pinkish-grey, rather darker on side of breast and flanks, shading to almost white on central belly; iris dark brown to black; bill and legs black. Differs from very similar C. cyanus in smaller size, relatively shorter bill, somewhat brighter blue wings and tail, and lack of white tips on tail. Sexes similar. Juvenile is similar to adult, but hood brownish-black, crown feathers with pale fringes, wing-coverts with sandy fringes, greater coverts tipped white (forming narrow bar), tail tip blunter and with narrow buff fringe; like adult by end of first autumn.

Spain (except N & E) and E & S Portugal.

Open woodland with grassy clearings, including orchards and olive (Olea) groves. Prefers oak woodland, especially holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia) and cork oak (Quercus suber) with scattered stone pines (Pinus pinea). Stands of introduced eucalypts (Eucalyptus) particularly favoured as communal roost-sites. Recorded locally to 700 m in foothill gorges; occurs down to sea-level, with largest concentrations in coastal wooded dunes of planted stone pines in SW Spain, one of the few habitats (albeit a somewhat artifical one) that allow it to compete successfully with normally dominant Pica pica.

Basically sedentary; occasional reports from NE Spain and extreme SW France suggest that some individuals disperse farther than was previously thought.

Omnivorous. Takes wide variety of food items, especially beetles (Coleoptera) and other insects and their larvae, including hairy caterpillars, also millipedes (Diplopoda), snails (Gastropoda), leeches (Hirudinea); also quite a number of fruits and nuts, including grapes, olives, mulberries, myrtle, asparagus, cherries, daphne, acorns and pine seeds. It sometimes takes nestlings and there are also recorded instances of catching and eating adult Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) (4 Avilés, J. and Parejo, D. (1996). Depredación de Rabilargo Cyanopica cyanus sobre Golondrina Común Hirundo rustica. Butlletí del Grup Català d'Anellament 13: 47–48. Close , 5 Sullivan, M.J.P. and Techachoochert, S. (2012). Azure-winged magpie catching an adult Barn Swallow. British Birds. 105(8): 480. Close ) and a fledged juvenile House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) (6 Holyoak, D.T. and Holyoak, G.A. (2012). Azure-winged Magpie killing and eating a fledged juvenile House Sparrow. British Birds. 105(10): 628. Close ). Forages in small to quite large groups, moving from tree to tree in follow-my-leader manner. On reaching feeding site, some flock-members investigate tree canopy, examining foliage for insects and fruits, even hanging upside-down; others drop to the ground , hopping about as they turn over leaf litter and examine tree boles. Stores food items in caches in loose soil of banks. Generally shy and very wary, but can become confiding where unmolested. General behaviour very much as for C. cyanus.

Typical call  a hoarse, rising "zschreee", seemingly a little more rasping than that of C. cyanus, this and various rattling calls often repeated as birds move through bushy cover; some rattling calls more prolonged than those of C. cyanus, reminiscent of Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) call. Also variety of single-note calls with varying emphasis, and in alarm a loud "kree-kree-kree". Subdued chattering by male in display to female.

Laying from early Apr to late May, but at higher elevations in C Spain (1250 m) peak in mid-Jun. Believed to have monogamous pair-bond, pair-members keep together within flocks. Social breeder, forming loose colonies, but rarely more than one nest in a single tree. Helpers, presumed young from previous year, work with parents to feed nestlings. Nest  construction mostly by female, although male brings material to site and helpers often participate, work taking 10–18 days; nest a foundation of twigs, with thick layer of mud or dung, topped by layer of soft plant material, wool and animal fur as main lining of cup, built 3–7 m above ground around fork in outer branch, usually in mid-canopy, as far as possible from main trunk. Clutch 4–9 eggs  , usually 5–7; incubation by female alone, period 15–16 days; chicks  fed by both parents, often by helpers as well, nestling period c. 14–16 days; family-members keep together within confines of flock. Nests are very rarely, if ever, parasitized by cuckoos, unlike those of its Asian congener (7 de Juana, E., and E. Garcia (2015). The Birds of the Iberian Peninsula. Bloomsbury, London, UK. Close ).

Not assessed. Hitherto treated as race of C. cyanus. Recent population estimates suggest c. 40,000 pairs in Portugal and c. 250,000 pairs in Spain. A report of breeding in SW France remains unsubstantiated. Although most abundant in the S Spain-Portugal border regions, and said to be increasing in Portugal, it seems that total population could be declining. Destruction of extensive stands of holm oaks has been blamed for its disappearance over several areas; competition with increasing numbers of Pica pica has also been suggested as possible reason for local decreases, and it seems that, in places where one species is numerous, the other is excluded. Older records mention flocks of up to 300 individuals during late 1930s and early 1940s; such numbers not seen today.