Black-rumped magpie
| Korean magpie | |
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.jpg) |
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| Adult in Daejon (South Korea) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Corvidae |
| Genus: | Pica |
| Species: | P. pica |
| Subspecies: | P. p. serica |
| Trinomial name | |
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Pica pica serica Gould, 1845 |
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| Dark red/orange/brown-grey: P. (p.) serica range Red: P. (p./s.) bottanensis range |
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| Synonyms | |
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Pica pica jankowskii (but see text) |
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Pica pica jankowskii (but see text)
Pica pica japonica
Pica serica and see text
The Korean magpie or Oriental magpie Pica pica serica, possibly Pica serica., known as "kkachi" (까치) in Korean, is a subspecies, or possibly species of magpie found in China and northern Indochina. It is a common symbol of the Korean identity, and has been adopted as the "official bird" of numerous South Korean cities, counties and provinces. Its distribution is not limited to the Korean Peninsula and if considered a valid species its range may extend almost to the Himalayas. Consequently, other vernacular names may be used for this bird, e.g. Asian magpie.
Compared to the European magpie, it differs not in size but is somewhat stockier, with a proportionally shorter tail and longer wings. The back, tail, and particularly the remiges show strong purplish-blue iridescence with few if any green hues. The populations found east of the Tibetan Plateau, which might belong to this species, are larger (the largest Pica magpies). They have a rump plumage that is mostly black, with but a few and often hidden traces of the white band which connects the white shoulder patches in their relatives. ,The Korean magpie has the a same call as the European birds but much softer.
Recent study of comparing 813 bp mtDNA sequences found out that either all Pica magpies should be one genus or that the Korean magpie need to be separated as a distinct species; it has been reproductively isolated for longer even than the yellow-billed magpie (P. nuttalli) of North America. Hence, pending more comprehensive studies, the species binomen is put into parentheses, indicating that this bird may or may not be considered distinct. The large magpies found from the eastern Himalayas region to southern China (Tibetan magpie or black-rumped magpie, P. p. bottanensis) could belong to serica if that is split off as a species. The relationships of P. p. leucoptera, found north of the arid lands of Mongolia, is yet to be determined, but the similar-looking subspecies from Kamchatka Krai and its surroundings (P. p. camtschatica) is the easternmost population of the "European" magpie. Of particularly interest is also the population called P. p. jankowskii (which is often included in serica); this taxon refers to the birds found north of Korea, towards the range of leucoptera. P. p. japonica from southern Japan is usually included in serica today.
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Wikipedia