Alpine Chough
Pyrrhocorax graculus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyCorvidae (Còrvids)
- GenusPyrrhocorax (Choughs)
- SpeciesPyrrhocorax graculus (Alpine Chough)
The Alpine chough (; chuf) or yellow-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax. Its two subspecies breed in high mountains from Spain eastwards through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia and Nepal, and it may nest at a higher altitude than any other bird. Its eggs have adaptations to the thin atmosphere that improve oxygen take-up and reduce water loss. This bird has glossy black plumage, a yellow beak, red legs, and distinctive calls. It has a buoyant acrobatic flight with widely spread flight feathers. The Alpine chough pairs for life and displays fidelity to its breeding site, which is usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Alpine Chough sighting in Khangchendzonga National Park, based on 9 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Khangchendzonga National Park
Red-billed Chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
Large-billed Crow
Corvus macrorhynchos
Gold-billed Magpie
Urocissa flavirostris
Gray Treepie
Dendrocitta formosae
Collared Treepie
Dendrocitta frontalis
House Crow
Corvus splendens
Common Green Magpie
Cissa chinensis
Common Raven
Corvus corax
Eurasian Jay
Garrulus glandarius
Blue Whistling-Thrush
Myophonus caeruleus
Rufous Sibia
Heterophasia capistrata
Green-backed Tit
Parus monticolus
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 5 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 6 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 9 | Khangchendzonga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Hemis National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Alpine Chough in Khangchendzonga National Park?
About 4% of wildlife watchers report a Alpine Chough sighting in Khangchendzonga National Park, based on 9 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Alpine Chough in Khangchendzonga National Park?
March has the highest sighting rate for Alpine Chough in Khangchendzonga National Park in our monthly data.