Eurasian magpie
| Eurasian magpie Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Nominate subspecies in Oxford, England | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Pica |
| Species: | P. pica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pica pica | |
| Subspecies | |
|
See text | |
| Global range of the Eurasian magpie and other Afro-Eurasian Pica species. Light blue: Pica pica melanotos Now treated as separate species: | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Corvus pica Linnaeus, 1758 | |
The Eurasian magpie or common magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout the northern part of the Eurasian continent. It is one of several birds in the crow family (corvids) that are designated as magpies, and it belongs to the Holarctic radiation of "monochrome" magpies. In Europe, the term "magpie" is used by English speakers as a synonym for the Eurasian magpie: the only other species of magpie in Europe is the Iberian magpie (Cyanopica cooki), which is restricted to the Iberian Peninsula. Despite sharing a name and similar colouration, they are not closely related to the Australian magpie, which is an artamid.
The Eurasian magpie is one of the most intelligent birds. The expansion of its nidopallium is approximately the same in its relative size as the brains of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans. It is one of the few bird species known to pass the mirror test.