Indochinese Green Magpie

The Indochinese green magpie is a vividly coloured forest corvid with bright green upperparts, yellow underparts, a black mask, reddish bill and long tail. The yellow breast gives rise to its alternative name, yellow-breasted magpie. Green colour in Cissa magpies depends on carotenoid pigments obtained through food and can fade toward blue in poorly nourished captive birds. Its combination of yellow belly and green back separates it from the common green magpie (Wikipedia, general species account; Oiseaux.net species account).

Native to southern China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, it occupies dense lowland and hill forest, generally below about 1,500 m. Birds take insects, small frogs, reptile eggs and nestling birds, searching through tangled vegetation alone, in pairs or in small parties. Breeding records centre on May. A bowl-shaped nest of small branches is concealed in a tree two to three metres above ground, and captive records indicate a clutch of about four eggs (Birds of the World summary, as reported on Wikipedia; Oiseaux.net species data).