Alpine Chough
Photo: Jim Higham from UK · CC BY 2.0

Crows, Jays, and Magpies

Alpine Chough

Pyrrhocorax graculus

LCLeast Concern
Family
Crows, Jays, and Magpies (Corvidae)
Order
Passeriformes

Overview

The Alpine chough (; chuf) or yellow-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) 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 eastwards through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia and Nepal, and it may nest at a higher altitude than any other bird. Its eggs have adaptations to the thin atmosphere that improve oxygen take-up and reduce water loss.
This bird has glossy black plumage, a yellow beak, red legs, and distinctive calls.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.