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Alpine Chough

Pyrrhocorax graculus

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46.275, 7.16271

Field Notes

Description:

The alpine chough is an acrobatic yellow-billed member of the Corvidae which utilizes ascending mountain winds to glide. With wings stuck along body it will dive down rock faces at a speed approaching 200 km/h! Spotted here on a pass 2200 m above sea level.

Habitat:

A high altitude species which breeds in mountains from Spain eastwards through southern Europe and the Alps across Central Asia and the Himalayas to western China.

Notes:

One of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax, the other being the red-billed chough, P. pyrrhocorax.

Reference Links:

Alpine Chough

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (9)
DanielePralong
Thanks for your comment Atul. I didn't have to wait for that long as there were 3 or 4 flying above my head, most likely interested by my lunch....
Atul
great snap u must have waited for that moment for so long
DanielePralong
Thanks for your comment Alice! They can glide for ages without much of a flip of a wing...
alicelongmartin
It makes you want to be a bird and fly for an hour in the fresh Alpine air.

Spotted for Missions

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Birds of the World

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Photographed
PublishedJune 16, 2011

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