Chough
Encyclopedia
The Red-billed Chough or Chough (icon ), Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird
in the crow
family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. Its eight subspecies
breed on mountains and coastal cliffs from Ireland
and Great Britain
east through southern Europe
and North Africa
to Central Asia
, India
and China
.
This bird has glossy black plumage, a long curved red bill, red legs, and a loud, ringing call. It has a buoyant acrobatic flight with widely spread primaries. The Red-billed Chough pairs
for life and displays fidelity
to its breeding site, which is usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. It builds a wool-lined stick nest and lays three eggs. It feeds, often in flocks, on short grazed grassland, taking mainly invertebrate
prey.
Although it is subject to predation and parasitism, the main threat to this species is changes in agricultural practices, which have led to population decline and range fragmentation in Europe; however, it is not threatened globally. The Red-billed Chough, which derived its common name from the Jackdaw
, was formerly associated with fire-raising, and has links with Saint Thomas Becket
and the county of Cornwall
. The Red-billed Chough has been depicted on postage stamps of a few countries, including the Isle of Man
, with four different stamps, and The Gambia
where the bird does not occur.
in his Systema Naturae
in 1758 as Upupa pyrrhocorax. It was moved to its current genus, Pyrrhocorax, by Marmaduke Tunstall
in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica. The genus name is derived from Greek
πύρρος (purrhos), "flame-coloured", and κόραξ (korax), "raven". The only other member of the genus is the Alpine Chough
, Pyrrhocorax graculus. The closest relatives of the choughs are the typical crow
s, Corvus, especially the jackdaws in the subgenus Coloeus
.
"Chough" was originally an alternative onomatopoeic name for the Jackdaw, Corvus monedula, based on its call. The similar red-billed species, formerly particularly common in Cornwall, became known initially as "Cornish Chough" and then just "Chough", the name transferring from one species to the other. The Australia
n White-winged Chough
, Corcorax melanorhamphos, despite its similar shape and habits, is only distantly related to the true choughs, and is an example of convergent evolution
.
, although differences between them are slight.
There is one known prehistoric form of the Red-billed Chough. P. p. primigenius, a subspecies
that lived in Europe during the last ice age, which was described in 1875 by Alphonse Milne-Edwards
from finds in southwest France
.
Detailed analysis of call similarity suggests that the Asiatic and Ethiopian races diverged from the western subspecies early in evolution
ary history, and that Italian
Red-billed Choughs are more closely allied to the North African subspecies than to those of the rest of Europe.
length and bill width) but the juvenile has an orange bill and pink legs until its first autumn, and less glossy plumage.
The Red-billed Chough is unlikely to be confused with any other species. Although the Jackdaw and Alpine Chough share its range, the Jackdaw is smaller and has unglossed grey plumage, and the Alpine Chough has a short yellow bill. Even in flight, the two choughs can be distinguished by Alpine's less rectangular wings, and longer, less square-ended tail.
The Red-billed Chough's loud, ringing chee-ow call is clearer and louder than the similar vocalisation of the Jackdaw, and always very different from that of its yellow-billed congener
, which has rippling preep and whistled sweeeooo calls. Small subspecies of the Red-billed Chough have higher frequency calls than larger races, as predicted by the inverse relationship between body size and frequency.
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The Red-billed Chough breeds in Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man
, southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin, the Alps
, and in mountainous country across Central Asia, India and China, with two separate populations in the Ethiopian Highlands. It is a non-migratory resident
throughout its range.
Its main habitat is high mountains; it is found between 2,000 and 2,500 metres (6,560–8,200 ft) in North Africa, and mainly between 2,400 and 3,000 metres (7,950–9,840 ft) in the Himalayas. In that mountain range it reaches 6,000 metres (19,650 ft) in the summer, and has been recorded at 7,950 metres (26,080 ft) altitude on Mount Everest
. In Ireland, Great Britain and Brittany
it also breeds on coastal sea cliffs, feeding on adjacent short grazed grassland or machair. It was formerly more widespread on coasts but has suffered from the loss of its specialised habitat. It tends to breed at a lower elevation than the Alpine Chough, that species having a diet better adapted to high altitudes.
The Red-billed Chough breeds from three years of age, and normally raises only one brood a year, although the age at first breeding is greater in large populations. A pair exhibits strong mate and site fidelity
once a bond
is established. The bulky nest is composed of roots and stems of heather
, furze or other plants, and is lined with wool or hair; in central Asia, the hair may be taken from live Himalayan Tahr
. The nest is constructed in a cave or similar fissure in a crag or cliff face. In soft sandstone, the birds themselves excavate holes nearly a metre deep. Old buildings may be used, and in Tibet
working monasteries provide sites, as occasionally do modern buildings in Mongolia
n towns, including Ulan Bator. The Red-billed Chough will utilise other artificial sites sites such as quarries and mineshafts for nesting where they are available.
The Chough lays three to five eggs 3.9 x 2.8 centimetres (1.5 x 1.1 in) in size and weighing 15.7 grammes (0.55 oz), of which 6% is shell. They are spotted, not always densely, in various shades of brown and grey on a creamy or slightly tinted ground.
The egg size is independent of the clutch size and the nest site, but may vary between different females. The female incubates
for 17–18 days before the altricial
downy chicks are hatched, and is fed at the nest by the male. The female broods
the newly hatched chicks for around ten days, and then both parents share feeding and nest sanitation duties. The chicks fledge
31–41 days after hatching.
Juveniles have a 43% chance of surviving their first year, and the annual survival rate of adults is about 80%. Choughs generally have a lifespan of about seven years, although an age of 17 years has been recorded. The temperature and rainfall in the months preceding breeding correlates with the number of young fledging each year and their survival rate. Chicks fledging under good conditions are more likely to survive to breeding age, and have longer breeding lives than those fledging under poor conditions.
s, spider
s and other invertebrate
s taken from the ground, with ant
s probably being the most significant item. The Central Asian subspecies P. p. centralis will perch on the backs of wild or domesticated mammal
s to feed on parasites. Although invertebrates make up most of the Chough's diet, it will eat vegetable matter including fallen grain, and in the Himalayas has been reported as damaging barley
crops by breaking off the ripening heads to extract the corn. In the Himalayas, they form large flocks in winter.
The preferred feeding habitat is short grass produced by grazing, for example by sheep and rabbit
s, the numbers of which are linked to the Chough's breeding success. Suitable feeding areas can also arise where plant growth is hindered by exposure to coastal salt spray or poor soils. It will use its long curved bill to pick ants, dung beetle
s and emerging flies off the surface, or to dig for grubs and other invertebrates. The typical excavation depth of 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) reflects the thin soils which it feeds on, and the depths at which many invertebrates occur, but it may dig to 10–20 cm (4–8 in) in appropriate conditions.
Where the two chough species occur together, there is only limited competition for food. An Italian study showed that the vegetable part of the winter diet for the Red-billed Chough was almost exclusively Gagea
bulbs, whilst the Alpine Chough took berries and hips. In June, Red-billed Choughs fed on Lepidoptera
larva
e whereas Alpine Choughs ate cranefly pupa
e. Later in the summer, the Alpine Chough mainly consumed grasshopper
s, whilst the Red-billed Chough added cranefly pupae, fly
larvae and beetles to its diet. Both choughs will hide food in cracks and fissures, concealing the cache with a few pebbles.
The Red-billed Chough's predators include the Peregrine Falcon
, Golden Eagle
and Eurasian Eagle-owl, while the Common Raven
will take nestlings. In northern Spain, Red-billed Choughs preferentially nest near Lesser Kestrel
colonies. This small insectivorous
falcon
is better at detecting a predator and more vigorous in defence than its corvid
neighbours. The breeding success of the Red-billed Chough in the vicinity of the kestrels was found to be much higher than that of birds elsewhere, with a lower percentage of nest failures (16% near the falcon, 65% elsewhere).
This species is occasionally parasitised
by the Great Spotted Cuckoo
, a brood parasite
for which the Eurasian Magpie is the primary host.
Red-billed Choughs can acquire blood parasites such as Plasmodium
, but a study in Spain showed that the prevalence was less than one percent, and unlikely to affect the life history and conservation of this species. These low levels of parasitism contrast with a much higher prevalence in some other passerine groups; for example a study of thrushes
in Russia
showed that all the Fieldfare
s, Redwing
s and Song Thrush
es sampled carried haematozoans, particularly Haemoproteus and Trypanosoma
.
Red-billed Choughs can also carry mite
s, but a study of the feather mite Gabucinia delibata, acquired by young birds a few months after fledging when they join communal roosts, suggested that this parasite actually improved the body condition of its host. It is possible that the feather mites enhance feather cleaning and deter pathogen
s, and may complement other feather care measures such as sunbathing, and rubbing the plumage with ants (the formic acid
from the insects deters parasites).
.
However, the European range has declined and fragmented due to the loss of traditional pastoral farming, persecution and perhaps disturbance at breeding and nesting sites, although the numbers in France
, Great Britain and Ireland may now have stabilised. The European breeding population is between 12,265–17,370 pairs, but only in Spain is the species still widespread. Since in the rest of the continent breeding areas are fragmented and isolated, the Red-billed Chough has been categorised as "vulnerable" in Europe.
In Spain, the Red-billed Chough has recently expanded its range by utilising old buildings, with 1,175 breeding pairs in a 9,716 square kilometre (3,692 sq mi) study area. These new breeding areas usually surround the original montane core areas. However, the populations with building nest sites are threatened by human disturbance, persecution and the loss of old buildings. Fossils of both chough species were found in the mountains of the Canary Islands
. The local extinction of the Alpine Chough and the reduced range of Red-billed chough in the islands may have been due to climate change or human activity.
, the Red-billed Chough, also known as 'sea-crow', was considered sacred to the Titan
Cronus
and dwelt on Calypso's
'Blessed Island', where "The birds of broadest wing their mansions form/The chough, the sea-mew, the loquacious crow,"
The Red-billed Chough has a long association with Cornwall, and appears on the Cornish Coat of Arms
. According to Cornish legend King Arthur
did not die after his last battle but rather his soul migrated into the body of a Red-billed Chough, the red colour of its bill and legs being derived from the blood of the last battle and hence killing this bird was unlucky. Legend also holds that after the last Cornish Chough departs from Cornwall, then the return of the Chough, as happened in 2001, will mark the return of King Arthur.
Up to the eighteenth century, the Red-billed Chough was associated with fire-raising, and was described by William Camden
as incendaria avis, "oftentime it secretly conveieth fire sticks, setting their houses afire". Daniel Defoe
was also familiar with this story:
Not all mentions of "chough" refer to this species. Because of the origins of its name, when Shakespeare
writes of "the crows and choughs that wing the midway air" [King Lear
, act 4, scene 6] or Henry VIII
's Vermin Act of 1532 is "ordeyned to dystroye Choughes, Crowes and Rookes", they are clearly referring to the Jackdaw.
In heraldry, choughs are known as "beckits". Three Red-billed Choughs are depicted on the coat of arms of Thomas Becket
, Archbishop of Canterbury
, and the city of Canterbury
also has choughs on its coat of arms
, because of its connection to the saint. This species has been depicted on the stamps of Bhutan
, The Gambia
, the Isle of Man
, Turkmenistan
and Yugoslavia
.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. Its eight subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
breed on mountains and coastal cliffs from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
east through southern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
to Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
This bird has glossy black plumage, a long curved red bill, red legs, and a loud, ringing call. It has a buoyant acrobatic flight with widely spread primaries. The Red-billed Chough pairs
Pair bond
In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between the males and females in a pair, potentially leading to breeding. Pair-bonding is a term coined in the 1940s that is frequently used in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology circles...
for life and displays fidelity
Philopatry
Broadly, philopatry is the behaviour of remaining in, or returning to, an individual's birthplace. More specifically, in ecology philopatry is the behaviour of elder offspring sharing the parental burden in the upbringing of their siblings, a classic example of kin selection...
to its breeding site, which is usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. It builds a wool-lined stick nest and lays three eggs. It feeds, often in flocks, on short grazed grassland, taking mainly invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
prey.
Although it is subject to predation and parasitism, the main threat to this species is changes in agricultural practices, which have led to population decline and range fragmentation in Europe; however, it is not threatened globally. The Red-billed Chough, which derived its common name from the Jackdaw
Jackdaw
The Jackdaw , sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or Western Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly sedentary, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are...
, was formerly associated with fire-raising, and has links with Saint Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
and the county of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. The Red-billed Chough has been depicted on postage stamps of a few countries, including the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, with four different stamps, and The Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
where the bird does not occur.
Taxonomy
The Red-billed Chough was first described by LinnaeusCarolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
in his Systema Naturae
Systema Naturae
The book was one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. The first edition was published in 1735...
in 1758 as Upupa pyrrhocorax. It was moved to its current genus, Pyrrhocorax, by Marmaduke Tunstall
Marmaduke Tunstall
Marmaduke Tunstall was an English ornithologist and collector. He was the author of Ornithologica Britannica , probably the first British work to use binomial nomenclature....
in his 1771 Ornithologia Britannica. The genus name is derived from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
πύρρος (purrhos), "flame-coloured", and κόραξ (korax), "raven". The only other member of the genus is the Alpine Chough
Alpine Chough
The Alpine Chough , or Yellow-billed Chough, is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. Its two subspecies breed in high mountains from Spain east through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia, India and China, and it may nest at a higher altitude...
, Pyrrhocorax graculus. The closest relatives of the choughs are the typical crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s, Corvus, especially the jackdaws in the subgenus Coloeus
Coloeus
Coloeus is a subgenus of the bird genus Corvus, the crows and allies. It contains two relatively small species both named as jackdaws. They have a blackish crown, wings and tail, the rest of the plumage being paler....
.
"Chough" was originally an alternative onomatopoeic name for the Jackdaw, Corvus monedula, based on its call. The similar red-billed species, formerly particularly common in Cornwall, became known initially as "Cornish Chough" and then just "Chough", the name transferring from one species to the other. The Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n White-winged Chough
White-winged Chough
The White-winged Chough is one of only two surviving members of the Australian mud-nest builders family, Corcoracidae, and is the only member of the genus Corcorax...
, Corcorax melanorhamphos, despite its similar shape and habits, is only distantly related to the true choughs, and is an example of convergent evolution
Convergent evolution
Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, both birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are...
.
Subspecies
There are eight extant subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, although differences between them are slight.
- P. p. pyrrhocorax, the nominate subspecies and smallest form, is endemicEndemism in birdsAn endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
to the British IslesBritish IslesThe British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, where it is restricted to IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the Isle of ManIsle of ManThe Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, and the far west of WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, although it has recently recolonised CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
after an absence of many years. - P. p. erythropthalmus, described by Louis Jean Pierre VieillotLouis Jean Pierre VieillotLouis Jean Pierre Vieillot was a French ornithologist.Vieillot described a large number of birds for the first time, especially those he encountered during the time he spent in the West Indies and North America, and 26 genera established by him are still in use...
in 1817 as Coracia erythrorhamphos, occurs in the Red-billed Chough's continental European range, excluding GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It is larger and slightly greener than the nominate race. - P. p. barbarus, described by Charles VaurieCharles VaurieCharles Vaurie was a French-born American ornithologist. He was born in France, but moved to Trenton, New Jersey as a youth...
under its current name in 1954, is resident in North AfricaNorth AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and on La PalmaLa PalmaLa Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...
in the Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. Compared to P. p. erythropthalmus, it is larger, has a longer tail and wings, and its plumage has a greener gloss. It is the longest-billed form, both absolutely and relatively. - P. p. baileyi described by Austin Loomer RandAustin L. RandAustin Loomer Rand was a Canadian zoologist.He was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia in 1905 and grew up in nearby Wolfville, where he was mentored by the noted local ornithologist Robie W. Tufts...
and Charles Vaurie under its current name in 1955, is a dull-plumaged subspecies endemic to EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, where it occurs in two separate areas. The two populations could possibly represent different subspecies. - P. p. docilis, described by Johann Friedrich GmelinJohann Friedrich GmelinJohann Friedrich Gmelin was a German naturalist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist and malacologist.- Education :Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp Friedrich Gmelin in 1748 in Tübingen...
as Corvus docilis in 1774, breeds from Greece to AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. It is larger than the African subspecies, but it has a smaller bill and its plumage is very green-tinted, with little gloss.
- P. p. himalayanus, described by John GouldJohn GouldJohn Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
in 1862 as Fregilus himalayanus, is found from the HimalayasHimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
to western ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, but intergrades with P. p. docilis in the west of its range. It is the largest subspecies, long-tailed, and with blue or purple-blue glossed feathers. - P. p. centralis, described by Erwin StresemannErwin StresemannErwin Stresemann was a German naturalist and ornithologist.Stresemann was one of the outstanding ornithologists of the 20th century...
in 1928 under its current name, breeds in central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. It is smaller and less strongly blue than P. p. himalayanus, but its distinctness from the next subspecies has been questioned. - P. p. brachypus, described by Robert SwinhoeRobert SwinhoeRobert Swinhoe FRS , was an English naturalist who worked as a Consul in Formosa. He discovered many Southeast Asian birds and several, such as Swinhoe's Pheasant, are named after him.-Biography:...
in 1871 as Fregilus graculus var. brachypus, breeds in central and northern China, MongoliaMongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and southern SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. It is similar to P. p. centralis but with a weaker bill.
There is one known prehistoric form of the Red-billed Chough. P. p. primigenius, a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
that lived in Europe during the last ice age, which was described in 1875 by Alphonse Milne-Edwards
Alphonse Milne-Edwards
Alphonse Milne-Edwards was a French mammalologist, ornithologist and carcinologist. He was English in origin, the son of Henri Milne-Edwards and grandson of Bryan Edwards, a Jamaican planter who settled at Bruges .Milne-Edwards obtained a medical degree in 1859 and became assistant to his father...
from finds in southwest France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Detailed analysis of call similarity suggests that the Asiatic and Ethiopian races diverged from the western subspecies early in evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
ary history, and that Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Red-billed Choughs are more closely allied to the North African subspecies than to those of the rest of Europe.
Description
The adult of the nominate subspecies of the Red-billed Chough, P. p. pyrrhocorax, is 39–40 centimetres (15–16 in) in length, has a 73–90 centimetres (29–35 in) wingspan, and weighs an average 310 grammes (10.9 oz). Its plumage is velvet-black, green-glossed on the body, and it has a long curved red bill and red legs. The sexes are similar (although adults can be sexed in the hand using a formula involving tarsusTarsus (skeleton)
In tetrapods, the tarsus is a cluster of articulating bones in each foot situated between the lower end of tibia and fibula of the lower leg and the metatarsus. In the foot the tarsus articulates with the bones of the metatarsus, which in turn articulate with the bones of the individual toes...
length and bill width) but the juvenile has an orange bill and pink legs until its first autumn, and less glossy plumage.
The Red-billed Chough is unlikely to be confused with any other species. Although the Jackdaw and Alpine Chough share its range, the Jackdaw is smaller and has unglossed grey plumage, and the Alpine Chough has a short yellow bill. Even in flight, the two choughs can be distinguished by Alpine's less rectangular wings, and longer, less square-ended tail.
The Red-billed Chough's loud, ringing chee-ow call is clearer and louder than the similar vocalisation of the Jackdaw, and always very different from that of its yellow-billed congener
Congener
Congener has several different meanings depending on the field in which it is used. Colloquially, it is used to mean a person or thing like another, in character or action.-Biology:In biology, congeners are organisms within the same genus...
, which has rippling preep and whistled sweeeooo calls. Small subspecies of the Red-billed Chough have higher frequency calls than larger races, as predicted by the inverse relationship between body size and frequency.
Distribution and habitat
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin, the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, and in mountainous country across Central Asia, India and China, with two separate populations in the Ethiopian Highlands. It is a non-migratory resident
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
throughout its range.
Its main habitat is high mountains; it is found between 2,000 and 2,500 metres (6,560–8,200 ft) in North Africa, and mainly between 2,400 and 3,000 metres (7,950–9,840 ft) in the Himalayas. In that mountain range it reaches 6,000 metres (19,650 ft) in the summer, and has been recorded at 7,950 metres (26,080 ft) altitude on Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. In Ireland, Great Britain and Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
it also breeds on coastal sea cliffs, feeding on adjacent short grazed grassland or machair. It was formerly more widespread on coasts but has suffered from the loss of its specialised habitat. It tends to breed at a lower elevation than the Alpine Chough, that species having a diet better adapted to high altitudes.
Breeding
Philopatry
Broadly, philopatry is the behaviour of remaining in, or returning to, an individual's birthplace. More specifically, in ecology philopatry is the behaviour of elder offspring sharing the parental burden in the upbringing of their siblings, a classic example of kin selection...
once a bond
Pair bond
In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between the males and females in a pair, potentially leading to breeding. Pair-bonding is a term coined in the 1940s that is frequently used in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology circles...
is established. The bulky nest is composed of roots and stems of heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
, furze or other plants, and is lined with wool or hair; in central Asia, the hair may be taken from live Himalayan Tahr
Himalayan Tahr
The Himalayan Tahr or Common Thar is a large ungulate related to the wild goat.-Habitat:...
. The nest is constructed in a cave or similar fissure in a crag or cliff face. In soft sandstone, the birds themselves excavate holes nearly a metre deep. Old buildings may be used, and in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
working monasteries provide sites, as occasionally do modern buildings in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
n towns, including Ulan Bator. The Red-billed Chough will utilise other artificial sites sites such as quarries and mineshafts for nesting where they are available.
The Chough lays three to five eggs 3.9 x 2.8 centimetres (1.5 x 1.1 in) in size and weighing 15.7 grammes (0.55 oz), of which 6% is shell. They are spotted, not always densely, in various shades of brown and grey on a creamy or slightly tinted ground.
The egg size is independent of the clutch size and the nest site, but may vary between different females. The female incubates
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
for 17–18 days before the altricial
Altricial
Altricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...
downy chicks are hatched, and is fed at the nest by the male. The female broods
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
the newly hatched chicks for around ten days, and then both parents share feeding and nest sanitation duties. The chicks fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
31–41 days after hatching.
Juveniles have a 43% chance of surviving their first year, and the annual survival rate of adults is about 80%. Choughs generally have a lifespan of about seven years, although an age of 17 years has been recorded. The temperature and rainfall in the months preceding breeding correlates with the number of young fledging each year and their survival rate. Chicks fledging under good conditions are more likely to survive to breeding age, and have longer breeding lives than those fledging under poor conditions.
Feeding
The Red-billed Chough's food consists largely of insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and other invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s taken from the ground, with ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s probably being the most significant item. The Central Asian subspecies P. p. centralis will perch on the backs of wild or domesticated mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s to feed on parasites. Although invertebrates make up most of the Chough's diet, it will eat vegetable matter including fallen grain, and in the Himalayas has been reported as damaging barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
crops by breaking off the ripening heads to extract the corn. In the Himalayas, they form large flocks in winter.
The preferred feeding habitat is short grass produced by grazing, for example by sheep and rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, the numbers of which are linked to the Chough's breeding success. Suitable feeding areas can also arise where plant growth is hindered by exposure to coastal salt spray or poor soils. It will use its long curved bill to pick ants, dung beetle
Dung beetle
Dung beetles are beetles that feed partly or exclusively on feces. All of these species belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea; most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae. This beetle can also be referred to as the scarab beetle. As most species of...
s and emerging flies off the surface, or to dig for grubs and other invertebrates. The typical excavation depth of 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) reflects the thin soils which it feeds on, and the depths at which many invertebrates occur, but it may dig to 10–20 cm (4–8 in) in appropriate conditions.
Where the two chough species occur together, there is only limited competition for food. An Italian study showed that the vegetable part of the winter diet for the Red-billed Chough was almost exclusively Gagea
Gagea
Gagea is a large genus of spring flowers in the Liliaceae found in Europe and western Asia. It is named after the English naturalist Sir Thomas Gage...
bulbs, whilst the Alpine Chough took berries and hips. In June, Red-billed Choughs fed on Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e whereas Alpine Choughs ate cranefly pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
e. Later in the summer, the Alpine Chough mainly consumed grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s, whilst the Red-billed Chough added cranefly pupae, fly
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
larvae and beetles to its diet. Both choughs will hide food in cracks and fissures, concealing the cache with a few pebbles.
Natural threats
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
, Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
and Eurasian Eagle-owl, while the Common Raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
will take nestlings. In northern Spain, Red-billed Choughs preferentially nest near Lesser Kestrel
Lesser Kestrel
The Lesser Kestrel is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across southern central Asia to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to India and Iraq. It is rare north of its breeding range, and declining in its European...
colonies. This small insectivorous
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
is better at detecting a predator and more vigorous in defence than its corvid
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...
neighbours. The breeding success of the Red-billed Chough in the vicinity of the kestrels was found to be much higher than that of birds elsewhere, with a lower percentage of nest failures (16% near the falcon, 65% elsewhere).
This species is occasionally parasitised
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
by the Great Spotted Cuckoo
Great Spotted Cuckoo
The Great Spotted Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
, a brood parasite
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
for which the Eurasian Magpie is the primary host.
Red-billed Choughs can acquire blood parasites such as Plasmodium
Plasmodium
Plasmodium is a genus of parasitic protists. Infection by these organisms is known as malaria. The genus Plasmodium was described in 1885 by Ettore Marchiafava and Angelo Celli. Currently over 200 species of this genus are recognized and new species continue to be described.Of the over 200 known...
, but a study in Spain showed that the prevalence was less than one percent, and unlikely to affect the life history and conservation of this species. These low levels of parasitism contrast with a much higher prevalence in some other passerine groups; for example a study of thrushes
Thrush (bird)
The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
showed that all the Fieldfare
Fieldfare
The Fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in these...
s, Redwing
Redwing
The Redwing is a bird in the thrush family Turdidae, native to Europe and Asia, slightly smaller than the related Song Thrush.-Taxonomy:...
s and Song Thrush
Song Thrush
The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...
es sampled carried haematozoans, particularly Haemoproteus and Trypanosoma
Trypanosoma
Trypanosoma is a genus of kinetoplastids , a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. The name is derived from the Greek trypano and soma because of their corkscrew-like motion. All trypanosomes are heteroxenous and are transmitted via a vector...
.
Red-billed Choughs can also carry mite
Mite
Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...
s, but a study of the feather mite Gabucinia delibata, acquired by young birds a few months after fledging when they join communal roosts, suggested that this parasite actually improved the body condition of its host. It is possible that the feather mites enhance feather cleaning and deter pathogen
Pathogen
A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
s, and may complement other feather care measures such as sunbathing, and rubbing the plumage with ants (the formic acid
Formic acid
Formic acid is the simplest carboxylic acid. Its chemical formula is HCOOH or HCO2H. It is an important intermediate in chemical synthesis and occurs naturally, most notably in the venom of bee and ant stings. In fact, its name comes from the Latin word for ant, formica, referring to its early...
from the insects deters parasites).
Status
The Red-billed Chough has an extensive range, estimated at 10 million square kilometres (3.8 million sq mi), and a large population, including an estimated 86,000 to 210,000 individuals in Europe. Over its range as a whole, the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the global population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations), and is therefore evaluated as Least ConcernLeast Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
.
However, the European range has declined and fragmented due to the loss of traditional pastoral farming, persecution and perhaps disturbance at breeding and nesting sites, although the numbers in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Great Britain and Ireland may now have stabilised. The European breeding population is between 12,265–17,370 pairs, but only in Spain is the species still widespread. Since in the rest of the continent breeding areas are fragmented and isolated, the Red-billed Chough has been categorised as "vulnerable" in Europe.
In Spain, the Red-billed Chough has recently expanded its range by utilising old buildings, with 1,175 breeding pairs in a 9,716 square kilometre (3,692 sq mi) study area. These new breeding areas usually surround the original montane core areas. However, the populations with building nest sites are threatened by human disturbance, persecution and the loss of old buildings. Fossils of both chough species were found in the mountains of the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. The local extinction of the Alpine Chough and the reduced range of Red-billed chough in the islands may have been due to climate change or human activity.
In culture
In Greek mythologyGreek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the Red-billed Chough, also known as 'sea-crow', was considered sacred to the Titan
Titan (mythology)
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age....
Cronus
Cronus
In Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...
and dwelt on Calypso's
Calypso (mythology)
Calypso was a nymph in Greek mythology, who lived on the island of Ogygia, where she detained Odysseus for a number of years. She is generally said to be the daughter of the Titan Atlas....
'Blessed Island', where "The birds of broadest wing their mansions form/The chough, the sea-mew, the loquacious crow,"
The Red-billed Chough has a long association with Cornwall, and appears on the Cornish Coat of Arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. According to Cornish legend King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
did not die after his last battle but rather his soul migrated into the body of a Red-billed Chough, the red colour of its bill and legs being derived from the blood of the last battle and hence killing this bird was unlucky. Legend also holds that after the last Cornish Chough departs from Cornwall, then the return of the Chough, as happened in 2001, will mark the return of King Arthur.
Up to the eighteenth century, the Red-billed Chough was associated with fire-raising, and was described by William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
as incendaria avis, "oftentime it secretly conveieth fire sticks, setting their houses afire". Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
was also familiar with this story:
It is counted little better than a kite, for it is of ravenous quality, and is very mischievous; it will steal and carry away any thing it finds about the house, that is not too heavy, tho' not fit for its food; as knives, forks, spoons and linnen cloths, or whatever it can fly away with, sometimes they say it has stolen bits of firebrands, or lighted candles, and lodged them in the stacks of corn, and the thatch of barns and houses, and set them on fire; but this I only had by oral tradition.
Not all mentions of "chough" refer to this species. Because of the origins of its name, when Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
writes of "the crows and choughs that wing the midway air" [King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, act 4, scene 6] or Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's Vermin Act of 1532 is "ordeyned to dystroye Choughes, Crowes and Rookes", they are clearly referring to the Jackdaw.
In heraldry, choughs are known as "beckits". Three Red-billed Choughs are depicted on the coat of arms of Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, and the city of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
also has choughs on its coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
, because of its connection to the saint. This species has been depicted on the stamps of Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, The Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
, the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.