The Alpine chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) is a bird in the crow family, one of two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. Its two subspecies breed in high mountains from Spain east through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia, India and China. It has nested at 6,500 m (21,300 ft), higher than any other bird species, and its eggs have adaptations that improve oxygen intake and reduce water loss at these altitudes. This bird has glossy black plumage, a yellow bill, and red legs. Widely spread flight feathers allow acrobatic manoeuvres. A large bird with distinctive whistling calls, it pairs for life and displays fidelity to its breeding site, usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. Building a lined stick nest, it lays three to five brown-speckled pale beige eggs. It feeds on fruit in winter and mainly invertebrate prey in grazed grassland in summer. Although some localised populations have declined due to predation, parasitism and changes in agricultural practices, this widespread and abundant species is not threatened globally. Climate change may present a long-term threat by shifting the bird's alpine habitat even higher. (Full article...)
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