Chough

Chough

There are 2 species of birds known as chough. These species belong to the crow family. The chough generally reach lengths over 13 inches and have black plumage highlighted by greens and blues. The beak of the common chough is curved and coloured bright-red, as are the legs. The beak of the alpine chough is shorter and yellow in colour. Both species are distributed over Europe and southern Asia. A small population of chough also exists in Ethiopia, which suggests that they are a relict from an ice age. [BM] {FW}