Pica (genus)

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Pica
Temporal range: Pliocene–Recent
Pica pica -Helsinki, Finland-8a.jpg
Eurasian magpie (P. pica)
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Genus: Pica
Brisson, 1760
Species

Pica is the genus of seven species of birds in the family Corvidae in both the New World and the Old.

They have long tails and have predominantly black and white markings. One species ranges widely from Europe through Asia, one occurs in western North America, one is restricted to California, one is restricted to southwestern Saudi Arabia, and one occurs across North Africa; the last two are often considered subspecies of the Eurasian. They are usually considered closely related to the blue and green magpies of Asia, but recent research suggests their closest relatives are instead the Eurasian crows.[1]

Taxonomy[]

The genus Pica was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.[2][3] He derived the name by tautonymy from the specific epithet of the Eurasian magpie Corvus pica introduced by Linnaeus in 1758.[3][4] Pica is the Latin word for the Eurasian magpie.[5]

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the Eurasian magpie consisted of multiple species including the Maghreb magpie, the Asir magpie, the black-rumped magpie and the oriental magpie.[6]

Species[]

The genus contains seven species:[7]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
01-Magpie.jpg Pica pica Eurasian magpie Europe and Asia
Maghreb (European) Magpie, Morocco.jpg Pica mauritanica Maghreb magpie northwest Africa
Pica asirensis Asir magpie Asir Region of Saudi Arabia
Black-rumped Magpie Bumthang Bhutan.jpg Pica bottanensis Black-rumped magpie central Bhutan, west-central China
Korean magpie in Daejeon (side profile).jpg Pica serica Oriental magpie southeastern Russia and Myanmar to eastern China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and northern Indochina
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica), UK.jpg Pica hudsonia Black-billed magpie western half of North America
Pica nuttalli.jpg Pica nuttalli Yellow-billed magpie California

Fossil species[]

A prehistoric species of Pica, Pica mourerae, is known from fossils found in Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary strata on Mallorca.

References[]

  1. ^ Ericson, Per G. P.; Jansén, Anna-Lee; Johansson, Ulf S.; Ekman, Jan (2005). "Inter-generic relationships of the crows, jays, magpies and allied groups (Aves: Corvidae) based on nucleotide sequence data" (PDF). Journal of Avian Biology. 36: 222–234. doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2001.03409.x.
  2. ^ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés (in French and Latin). Volume 1. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. p. 30. |volume= has extra text (help)
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 250. |volume= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturæ per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Volume 1 (in Latin) (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 106.
  5. ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 305. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. ^ Song, S.; Zhang, R.; Alström, P.; Irestedt, M.; Cai, T.; Qu, Y.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Fjeldså, J.; Lei, F. (2017). "Complete taxon sampling of the avian genus Pica (magpies) reveals ancient relictual populations and synchronous Late-Pleistocene demographic expansion across the Northern Hemisphere". Journal of Avian Biology. 49 (2): jav–01612. doi:10.1111/jav.01612.
  7. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Crows, mudnesters, birds-of-paradise". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
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