Formosan Blue Magpie

In 2007 National Bird Voting Campaign held by Taiwan International Birding Association, there were over 1 million votes cast from 53 countries. Formosan Blue Magpie defeated Mikado Pheasant and was chosen as Taiwan's national bird, though it has yet to be formally accepted.

Picture of the Formosan Blue Magpie has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.
Original source: Flickr here
Author: Flickr user wagtail . Photo uploaded to commons by user ltshears

The Formosan Blue Magpie is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Formosan Blue Magpie by ~amatizking is such a unique painting! Beautiful brush strokes and a lovely expression make this an outstanding work of art. More

Formosan Blue Magpieedit this page = Birds Wiki, the online field guide that you can edit Formosan Blue Magpie The Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea) is a member of the Corvidae family. It is also known as the Taiwan Magpie or the "long-tailed mountain lady". The Formosan Blue Magpie is an endemic species that can only be found in the mountains and lowland broadleaf forests of Taiwan. More

Formosan Blue Magpie defeated Mikado Pheasant and was chosen as Taiwan's national bird, though it has yet to be formally accepted. More

Formosan Blue MagpieCommon Name: Formosan Blue Magpie or Taiwan Magpie Scientific Name: Urocissa caerulea Length: 64 cm (including tail) Distribution: Taiwan only! Found in deciduous lowland forest. Formosan Blue MagpieI chose the Formosan Blue Magpie to be the symbol of this web site because I owe my present love of birds and birding to my first encounter with this beautiful bird. More

birds endemic to Taiwan, the Formosan blue magpie is the most familiar to local people. Noted for its unusually long tail, its habit of storing food, and its unique way of helping at the nest, it makes striking appearances in the green mountain wilderness of Taiwan. I wonder what Robert Swinhoe , an Englishman who carried out the earliest studies on the birds of Taiwan, felt when he first saw the Formosan blue magpie (Urocissa caerulea Gould). More

Formosan Blue Magpie conservation efforts bear fruit = TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan’s efforts to save the endemic rare bird Formosan Blue Magpie have borne fruit, a local conservationist said yesterday. Liao Shi-ching, president of the Taiwan International Birding Association, made the remarks after he took a picture of seven Formosan Blue Magpies seeking food together along the Southern Cross-Island Highway in the southeastern county of Taitung recently. More

The Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea) is a beautiful member of the Crow family living in the mountains of Taiwan ranging from 300m to 1200m in altitude. It is about the same size as the European Magpie, but with a longer tail. The head, neck and breast are black, the rest of the plumage on the bird is a rich dark blue to purple in colour. It has white markings on the the wings and the tail. More

The Formosan blue magpie has an average body length of 64-65cm, a wing length of 18-21cm, and a tail length of 40cm. Their plumage is sapphire blue with the exception of their head, neck, and the tips of their upper tail coverts, all of which are black. The feathers on their lower abdomen are lighter in color, and there are white spots on the edges of their flight feathers and white tints on the edges of their long tail feathers. More

Seeing a flock of Formosan Blue Magpies fly across a valley is an unforgettable sight. They are so beautiful with their blue feathers and their long segmented tails. In a family of Formosan Blue Magpies, everybody cooperates in the breeding chores. The older chicks that have not yet reached breeding age (2 or less than 2 years old) are helpers at the nest. They baby-sit the younger ones. They help feed them and protect them from predators. Even a 2-month-old chick has been observed feeding the newborn babies. More

The Formosan Blue Magpies often travel in groups ranging from three to ten during the reproduction seasons. They dwell in the lowlands and spend most of their time in forests that contain fruit trees.Their diet contains food such as:big insects,small birds, bird eggs, wild rats, frogs,lizards and fruits. The Magpies head to neck are black.The body is blue feathers, and the tail is black and white. TOP ‧(c) 2003 HSINCHU ZOO All Rights Reserved. ‧Address:No.279, Gongyuan Rd. More

Picture of Urocissa caerulea above has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.
Original source: Flickr user wagtail . Photo uploaded to commons by user ltshears external linkPasseriformes
Family : Corvidae
Genus : Urocissa
Species : caerulea
Authority : Gould, 1863