There are two species of this bird, the red-billed and the white-winged and its closest relative is the crow. They are not endangered. They are able to do amazing aerobatics and are considered excellent fliers.

Physical Characteristics

Choughs have black feathers, bright colored feet and legs, long wide wings. They are medium sized birds and are around 16 inches long with a 25-39 inch wingspan. Some species have a yellow bill and some have a red bill and both kinds have red legs. The young bird is a duller color than the adults and not as glossy.

Habitat and Location

They live in the mountains in the countries of Eurasia, North Africa, Spain, Asia, China, Ireland, the UK, and Ethiopia. They don’t migrate so you don’t normally see them outside their own country areas.

Diet

The choughs mostly eat beetles, snails, grasshoppers, caterpillars, grubs, fly larvae and ants. They also eat some plants such as barley, corn, fruit, berries, and will also forage from tourist areas for scraps if winter food is scarce.

Breeding Facts

The cloughs mate for life and use the same breeding sites over and over. They have been known to have several pairs nesting close together, but may also build a nest and nest alone from others in their species. They nest in caves or in holes in cliff faces. They build a nest of sticks and lay three to five eggs. Sometimes they nest in manmade buildings. The eggs are white with blotches of brown or gray and only the female sits on them to hatch them, which takes about two or three weeks. Both parents do feed the chicks and they stay in the nest for about a month or so. Young cloths have a pretty good percentage of around 71 to 77 percent surviving to adulthood.

Chough of Eurasia – North Africa – Europe – Ethiopia