Eurasian Magpie

Eurasian Magpie

Pica pica

Silhouette: PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely
at Rotterdam [The Hague]

In 3 days >90%

1,101 Verified sightings at Rotterdam [The Hague]
16,222 In all 28 parks From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Eurasian Magpie

The Eurasian magpie or common magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout the northern part of the Eurasian continent. It is one of several birds in the crow family (corvids) that are designated as magpies, and it belongs to the Holarctic radiation of "monochrome" magpies. In Europe, the term "magpie" is used by English speakers as a synonym for the Eurasian magpie; the only other species of magpie in Europe is the Iberian magpie (Cyanopica cooki), which is restricted to the Iberian Peninsula. Despite sharing a name and similar colouration, they are not closely related to the Australian magpie, which is an artamid, only sharing the same clade (Corvides).

The Eurasian magpie is one of the most intelligent birds. The expansion of its nidopallium is approximately the same in its relative size as the brains of chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans. It is one of the few bird species known to pass the mirror test.

The magpie was first described and illustrated by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in his Historiae animalium of 1555. In 1758, Linnaeus included the species in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:40

Netherlands · 2026

© Joost van Bruggen · XC1182368 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Alarm call0:48

Spain · 2025

© Esperanza Poveda · XC1071574 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Nocturnal call1:10

Ireland · 2022

© Irish Wildlife Sounds · XC775074 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hemis National Park 🇮🇳 India
~80%
2 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
~70%
3 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~60%
4 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~60%
5 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~50%
6 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~50%
7 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~50%
8 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
9 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
10 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
11 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~30%
12 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~30%
13 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
14 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~30%
15 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
16 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~30%
17 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
18 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
19 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~20%
20 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~20%
21 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
22 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
23 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~10%
24 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
25 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
26 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
27 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
<5%
28 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tashkent 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan
>90%
2 Sincan 🇹🇷 Turkey
>90%
3 Kharkiv 🇺🇦 Ukraine
>90%
4 Ankara 🇹🇷 Turkey
>90%
5 Athens 🇬🇷 Greece
>90%
6 Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain
>90%
7 Yerevan 🇦🇲 Armenia
~90%
8 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~90%
9 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~90%
10 Almaty 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
~90%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Moscow Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
2 Barcelona Zoo 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
3 Flamingo Land Resort 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
4 Wildpark Schwarze Berge 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
5 Edinburgh Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
6 Zoo Aquarium de Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
7 Aquarama Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
8 Budakeszi Game Preserve 🇭🇺 Hungary In captivity
9 Bois de la Bâtie 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
10 Blåvand Zoo 🇩🇰 Denmark In captivity
11 Belgrade Zoo 🇷🇸 Serbia In captivity
12 Leintalzoo Schwaigern 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
13 Heimatnaturgarten 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Eurasian Magpie in Rotterdam [The Hague]?

Very likely

About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Magpie sighting in Rotterdam [The Hague] on a given day, based on 1,101 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 6th most-seen of the 175 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Eurasian Magpie in Rotterdam [The Hague]?

February

In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Magpie in Rotterdam [The Hague] on a given day, against about 50% in July, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Eurasian Magpie?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eurasian Magpie sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Rotterdam [The Hague] the best place to see a Eurasian Magpie?

39th of 65

Of the 65 cities where we can rate Eurasian Magpie sightings, Rotterdam [The Hague] ranks 39th at about 70%. The best odds are in Tashkent (Uzbekistan, over 90%), Sincan (Turkey, over 90%) and Kharkiv (Ukraine, over 90%).

Which relatives of the Eurasian Magpie live in Rotterdam [The Hague]?

Same family: Corvidae

The closest relatives of the Eurasian Magpie that you can see in Rotterdam [The Hague] (family Corvidae, Crows, Jays, and Magpies) are Carrion Crow (about 70%), Eurasian Jackdaw (about 70%) and Eurasian Jay (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Eurasian Magpie sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Eurasian Magpie is recorded against all the birds logged in Rotterdam [The Hague] (1,101 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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