Oriental Magpie
Pica serica
Also known as: Korean Magpie
About This Species
A bold, adaptable corvid with glossy black-and-white plumage and a long tail, it is easy to find in parks, farmland, villages and city edges across East Asia. It forages on the ground for insects, small vertebrates, grain and scraps, often in pairs or small family groups, and builds large dome-topped stick nests in tall trees that are reused across seasons. It is active and visible throughout the day and year-round, with no strong seasonal pattern to plan around.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- As a common, adaptable urban bird it tolerates people reasonably well, but nests should still be observed from a distance rather than approached, since magpies can become defensive and mob intruders near active nests.
- Wildlife protections and hunting regulations for this species differ across the countries of East Asia where it occurs, so local rules should be checked rather than assumed.
- The cautious general approach is to avoid handling nestlings or eggs and to give breeding pairs space during spring.
NEAvesPasseriformesCorvidae
Seasonal Activity
308,743 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.