Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)

OTHER NAMES: Yellow-Billed Chough

Latin Etymology: Pyrrhocorax ("flame-coloured raven") graculus (unidentified bird - possibly Jackdaw)

Alpine Chough (subspecies P. g. graculus) in the Dolomites, Italy - July 2004

Featured Subspecies: Pyrrhocorax graculus graculus
Weight: 191-244g  /  Length: 37-39cm  /  Wingspan: 75-80cm
ABSENT FROM UK / IUCN Red List Least Concern

The Alpine Chough is a mountain species found throughout Eurasia and in North Africa.  They are noisy and gregarious, forming flocks of 20+ individuals.  In the Dolomites where I saw this species they seemed to congregate around areas where people gathered such as mountain huts and picnic sites where they took food  from them.  They are generally a high altitude species, feeding on meadows beneath cliffs suitable for them to nest on.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Pyrrhocorax
Subspecies: P. g. graculus. P. g. digitatus

 - Sighting Locations -

ITALY - Italian - Gracchio Alpino ("Alpine Chough")

A fairly common resident of the high mountains.

 - DOLOMITES 2001 TRIP: A seen at various points in the Dolomites

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto