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  Profile

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  In flight

Clever Corvids

Iberian Magpie

Cyanopica cooki

• rare
• 42 km/h
• Least Concern

For centuries believed to be the same species as Asian magpies. DNA proved otherwise in 2002. Unique.

Population

713,000-1,800,000 mature individuals (2021-derived estimate, most recent BirdLife/IUCN global assessment reaffirmed 2025); population trend increasing

Habitat

Open woodlands of oak and pine (holm/cork oak dehesas and pine stands), also eucalyptus plantations, olive groves, rural gardens and urban parks; found from sea level up to about 1,700 m in suitable habitat (SEO/BirdLife); some sources describe a lower typical ceiling near 700 m

Fun fact

Although it looks nearly identical to the Azure-winged Magpie of East Asia some 9,000 km away, genetic analyses (and a magpie fossil over 40,000 years old found in caves in Gibraltar) showed the Iberian Magpie evolved independently rather than descending from birds supposedly brought back by 16th-century Portuguese sailors during the Age of Discovery; it is now recognized as a distinct species, Cyanopica cooki.

Range

Endemic to the Iberian Peninsula - resident across most of Spain (except the northern and eastern fringes) and eastern/southern Portugal (extent of occurrence ~304,000 km²); vagrants occasionally recorded in southwestern France and northern Italy

Diet

Omnivorous forager: mainly insects (ants, beetles, larvae) and other invertebrates (incl. earthworms, snails, diplopods), plus acorns, pine nuts, cereal grains, olives, soft fruits (figs, grapes, cherries), carrion and refuse at landfills/rubbish dumps, and human-provided scraps; rarely takes small vertebrates

Size

0.34 m

Wingspan

0.39 m