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Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax   [Linnaeus, 1758]
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   Page updated:16-January-2013
Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae
BTO Codes: CF, CHOUG EURING No: 15590
Number in Britain: 462 pairs (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK: AMBER
European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Declining
Global: (Details)
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  
Status in UK: (A)  Resident Breeder
Subspecies: pyrrhocorax recorded in Britain (of 8 subsp. in the world)
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Length: 40 cm Wingspan: 82 cm Weight: M/F: 310 g    
Scientific name from: Gr.: purrhos=flame-coloured + korax=raven
World Distribution: Locally in Eurasia, Ethiopia
Habitat: Open country, often rocky
Diet: Soil-dwelling invertebrates, winter, also grain and berries, on open ground
TitBit: Legend has it that when the Chough returns to breed in Cornwall, King Arthur will rise again. It is said he turned into a chough on his death, and the bird is included in the county arms. The first to breed there recently did so in 2001…  

Population and Distribution

Population Trend: No population trend available
Distribution: No distribution maps available
British Population Size:
    Summer: 428 to 496 pairs in 2002
    First Record: Recorded in Medieval times [Fossil evidence from Ipswichian (last) interglacial, c. 125,000 yr ago]
    Latest Survey: Johnstone, I. et al. (2007) Bird Study 54:23-34
    Conservation Status: AMBER because Species of European Concern,
   Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 AMBER     1996-2001 AMBER  
   Races of Concern: pyrrhocorax AMBER (European Concern)
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
    No habitat data from BBS
European Population Size:
    Summer: 28 to 85 thousand pairs   (Trend in Numbers)
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe mapped by the EBCC Atlas
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WCA(I,IV), WBD(I), Bern(III)
Survey Results:

Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 39 x 28 mm Egg Weight: 15.7 g (of which 6 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records: 28
Clutch Size: 3 - 5 eggs
Incubation: 17- 18 days   by the: Female
Fledging: 41 - 31days as: Altricial, downy
First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1
Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.800 ± 0.011       
Juvenile Survival: 0.430 (in First-Year)  
Age at First Breeding: 3 years Typical Lifespan: 7 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 16 years 8 months 26 days (set in 1981)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics
Ring Size: E (pulli E or Fo)
Wing Length Sexually dimorphic (male much larger than female)
Male: 290.9 ± 9.4     Range 269.0 - 305.0 mm, (N = 34)
Female: 274.0 ± 7.1     Range 257.0 - 283.0 mm, (N = 34)
Weight Sexually dimorphic (male much larger than female)
Male: 353.1 ± 33.90 Range 265.0 - 389.0 g , (N =33)
Female: 298.4 ± 16.45 Range 243.4 - 326.0 g , (N =34)
Seasonal: Summer 318.3 ± 28.71 (N = 35)   Autumn 343.5 ± 32.23 (N = 19)   Winter 327.5 ± 32.63 (N = 66)  
Source: British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

Other Names
Red-billed Chough
Gaelic: Cathag-dhearg-chasach Welsh: Bran Goesgoch
Danish: Alpekrage Dutch: Alpenkraai
Finnish: Alppivaris French: Crave à bec rouge
German: Alpenkrähe Hungarian: Havasi varjú
Icelandic: Bjargkorpungur Irish: Cág Cosdearg
Italian: Gracchio corallino Norwegian: Alpenkraai
Polish: Wronczyk Portuguese: Gralha-de-bico-vermelho
Spanish: Chova piquiroja Swedish: Alpkråka
Local Names:Fire Raven
Collective Noun:Clattering

For More Information...
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See Also:
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Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
Read State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead
BOU Register of Avian Theses entry