Iberian Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cooki
(aka Iberian Magpie, Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus cooki)
The Iberian Azure-winged Magpie is still lumped with the Asian Azure-winged C. cyanus by some authorities. The former is distributed in the Iberian Peninsula (See the distribution map at Birdlife International while the latter is found at a great distance in the Far East. One story was that Portuguese explorers brought the birds back from the Far East but molecular eⱱіdeпсe, smaller size and some plumage and vocal differences suggest that they are two ѕрeсіeѕ.
They are found in open woodland especially oak woodland as well as in planted stone pines.
azure-winged magpie is a bird in the crow family. It is 31–35 cm long and similar in overall shape to the Eurasian magpie but is more slender with proportionately smaller legs and bill. It belongs to the genus ”Cyanopica”.
It has a glossy black top to the head and a white throat. The underparts and the back are a light grey-fawn in colour with the wings and the feathers of the long tail are an azure blue. It inhabits various types of coniferous and broadleaf forest, including parks and gardens in the eastern populations.