Magpie - Systematics and Species

Systematics and Species

According to analysis, magpies do not form the monophyletic group they are traditionally believed to be—a long tail has certainly elongated (or shortened) independently in multiple lineages of corvid birds. Among the traditional magpies, there appear to be two distinct lineages: one consists of Holarctic species with black/white coloration and is probably closely related to crows and Eurasian jays. The other contains several species from South to East Asia with vivid coloration which is predominantly green or blue. The Azure-winged Magpie is a species with a most peculiar distribution and unclear relationships. It may be the single survivor of a long extinct group of corvid genera.

Other research has cast doubt on the taxonomy of the Pica magpies, since it appears that P. hudsonia and P. nuttalli may not be different species, whereas the Korean race of P. pica is genetically very distinct from the other Eurasian (as well as the North American) forms. Either the North American, Korean, and remaining Eurasian forms are accepted as three or four separate species, or there exists only a single species, Pica pica.

Holarctic (black-and-white) magpies

• Genus Pica
  • Eurasian/European Magpie, Pica pica
  • Black-billed Magpie, Pica hudsonia (may be conspecific with P. pica)
  • Yellow-billed Magpie, Pica nuttalli (may be conspecific with P. (pica) hudsonia)
  • Korean Magpie, Pica sericea (may be conspecific with P. pica)

Oriental (blue/green) magpies

• Genus Urocissa
  • Formosan Blue Magpie Urocissa caerulea
  • Red-billed Blue Magpie, Urocissa erythrorhyncha
  • Gold-billed Magpie, Urocissa flavirostris
  • White-winged Magpie, Urocissa whiteheadi
  • Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Urocissa ornata
• Genus Cissa
  • Common Green Magpie, Cissa chinensis
  • Yellow-breasted Magpie, Cissa hypoleuca
  • Short-tailed Magpie, Cissa thalassina

Azure-winged Magpie

• Genus Cyanopica
  • Azure-winged Magpie, Cyanopica cyana