Corvidae

Red-billed Blue Magpie

Urocissa erythroryncha

Long-tailed, blue and striking, in noisy parties.

Seen atKunja ·Ranikhet

Opens recordings on xeno-canto, the open bird-sound archive.

In the Lap of Nature

What the hills call it

Neeli Kotri

/ nee·lee ko·tree /नीली कोतरी

HindiBird

Red-billed Blue Magpie — Long-tailed, blue and striking, in noisy parties.

Field notes

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae · Crows & jays
Genus: Urocissa
Length: 65–68 cm
Weight: 196–232 g
At Kunja: Resident — here all year round
Conservation: Least Concern

How to know it

A spectacular long-tailed bird — bright blue above, white below, a black head and breast, a coral-red bill and legs, and a very long white-tipped tail.

What it eats

Omnivorous — fruit, seeds, insects, eggs, small animals and carrion, foraged through the trees and on the ground.

Where & when to spot it

Through the wooded slopes and tall trees, usually in noisy, restless parties trailing those long blue tails between the branches.

Nesting & mating

A stick cup in a tree or tall bush; three to five eggs in spring.

In the field

When we’ve seen it

Most often photographed in March. That makes spring a clear window to spot it around the homestay.

Spotting tip: head out early in the day, walk slowly and stop often, and listen as much as you look — most of these birds call before they show themselves.

In the lens