Editing Alpine chough

{{Short description|Bird in the crow family}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Alpine_Chough_by_Jim Higham.jpg
| image_caption = Adult of nominate subspecies in Switzerland
| image_alt = Black crow-like bird with yellow bill perched on rock with valley in the background
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22705921A87386602 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22705921A87386602.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Pyrrhocorax
| species = graculus
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766)
| range_map = PyrrhocoraxGraculusIUCN.svg
| range_map_caption =Approximate distribution shown in green
| range_map_alt= This bird is resident in mountains in Morocco, Spain, southern Europe, Central Asia, India and China
| synonyms = ''Corvus graculus'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1766}}
}}

The '''Alpine chough''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ʌ|f}}) 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. The 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 feather]]s. The Alpine chough [[pair bond|pairs]] for life and displays [[philopatry|fidelity]] to its breeding site, which is usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. It builds a lined stick nest and lays three to five brown-blotched whitish eggs. It feeds, usually in flocks, on short grazed grassland, taking mainly [[invertebrate]] prey in summer and fruit in winter; it will readily approach tourist sites to find supplementary food.

Although it is subject to predation and parasitism, and changes in agricultural practices have caused local population declines, this widespread and abundant species is not threatened globally. Climate change may present a long-term threat, by shifting the necessary Alpine habitat to higher altitudes.

==Taxonomy==
[[File:ChoughsDiff.svg|thumb|left|upright|alt= Diagrams of the two chough species perched and in flight|The [[red-billed chough]] (P. pyrrhocorax — left) has deeper wing "fingers" and tail wedge in flight than the Alpine (on right), and its wings extend to or beyond the tail tip when standing.]]
[[File:Chocard à bec jaune (Pyrrhocorax graculus) - les Arcs 2018.jpg|thumb|alt= Alpine chough in flight|In-flight in northern Alps, [[France]]]]
The Alpine chough was first described as ''Corvus graculus'' by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] in the ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' in 1766.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first= C. | author-link = Carl Linnaeus | title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio duodecima | publisher=Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii) | year=1766| page = 158|language=la}}</ref> It was moved to its current genus, ''Pyrrhocorax'', by English [[ornithology|ornithologist]] [[Marmaduke Tunstall]] in his 1771 ''Ornithologia Britannica'',<ref>{{cite book | last=Tunstall | first=M. | author-link= Marmaduke Tunstall | title= Ornithologia Britannica: seu Avium omnium Britannicarum tam terrestrium, quam aquaticarum catalogus, sermone Latino, Anglico et Gallico redditus | publisher=London, J. Dixwell | year=1771| page = 2|language=la}}</ref> along with the only other member of the genus, the [[red-billed chough]], ''P.&nbsp;pyrrhocorax''.<ref name=Madge94>{{cite book | last = Madge | first = S. | author-link = Steve Madge |author2=Burn, Hilary |title = Crows and jays: a guide to the crows, jays and magpies of the world | year = 1994 | publisher = [[A & C Black]] | pages = 132–133 | isbn = 978-0-7136-3999-5}}</ref> The closest relatives of the choughs were formerly thought to be the typical [[crow]]s, ''Corvus'', especially the jackdaws in the subgenus ''[[Coloeus]]'',<ref name= goodwin>{{cite book | last = Goodwin | first = Derek |author2=Gillmor, Robert | title = Crows of the world | year =1976 | publisher = London: British Museum (Natural History)| isbn = 978-0-565-00771-3 |pages = 151–158}}</ref> but [[DNA]] and [[cytochrome&nbsp;b]] analysis shows that the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'', along with the [[ratchet-tailed treepie]] (genus ''Temnurus''), diverged early from the rest of the [[Corvidae]].<ref name= Ericson>{{cite journal | last= Ericson | first = Per G. P. |author2=Jansén, Anna-Lee|author3= Johansson, Ulf S.|author4= Ekman, Jan| year=2005 | title= Inter-generic relationships of the crows, jays, magpies and allied groups (Aves: Corvidae) based on nucleotide sequence data | journal= Journal of Avian Biology | volume= 36 | issue = 3| pages= 222–234 | url =http://nrm.se/download/18.4e1d3ca810c24ddc70380001145/Corvidae%5B1%5D.pdf | doi =10.1111/j.0908-8857.2001.03409.x | citeseerx = 10.1.1.493.5531 }}</ref>

The genus name is derived from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{Lang|el|πύρρος (purrhos)|italic=yes}}, "flame-coloured", and {{Lang|el|κόραξ (korax)|italic=yes}}, "raven".<ref name=BTO>{{cite web|title=Chough ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'' [Linnaeus, 1758] |work=BTOWeb BirdFacts |url=http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob15590.htm |publisher=British Trust for Ornithology |access-date=6 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411234411/http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob15590.htm |archive-date=11 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The species epithet ''graculus'' is [[Latin]] for a jackdaw.<ref name= woodhouse>{{cite book | last = Woodhouse | first = Sidney Chawner | title = The Englishman's pocket Latin-English and English-Latin dictionary | year = 1982 | publisher = Taylor & Francis | isbn = 978-0-7100-9267-0 | page = [https://archive.org/details/englishmanspocke0000wood/page/75 75] | url = https://archive.org/details/englishmanspocke0000wood/page/75 }}</ref> The current binomial name of the Alpine chough was formerly sometimes applied to the red-billed chough.<ref>{{cite book | last = Lilford | author-link = Thomas Powys, 4th Baron Lilford| first = Thomas Littleton Powys |author2= Salvin, Osbert|author3= Newton, Alfred|author4= Thorburn, Archibald|author4-link= Archibald Thorburn |author5=Keulemans, Gerrard John | title = Coloured figures of the birds of the British islands | year = 1897 | publisher = R. H. Porter | volume=2|page=56}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Temminck | author-link = Coenraad Jacob Temminck | first = Coenraad Jacob | title = Manuel d'ornithologie; Tableau systématique des oiseaux qui se trouvent en Europe | url = https://archive.org/details/manueldornithol00natugoog | year = 1815–40 | publisher = Paris: Sepps & Dufour |page = 122 }}</ref> The English word "chough" was originally an alternative [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]] name for the [[jackdaw]], ''Corvus monedula'', based on its call. The red-billed chough, formerly particularly common in [[Cornwall]] and known initially as the "Cornish chough", eventually became just "chough", the name transferring from one genus to another.<ref name= Cocker >{{cite book | last = Cocker | first = Mark | author-link = Mark Cocker|author2=Mabey, Richard |author-link2=Richard Mabey  |title = Birds Britannica | year = 2005 |location=London | publisher = Chatto & Windus | isbn = 978-0-7011-6907-7|pages=406–408}}</ref>

The Alpine chough has two extant subspecies.
* ''P. g. graculus'', the [[Subspecies#Nomenclature|nominate subspecies]] in Europe, north Africa, Turkey, the Caucasus and northern Iran.<ref name= Madge94/>
* ''P. g. digitatus'', described by the German naturalists [[Wilhelm Hemprich]] and [[Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg]] as ''P.&nbsp;alpinus'' var. ''digitatus'' in 1833,<ref name= dickinson>{{cite journal | last= Dickinson | first= E C |author2= Dekker, R. W. R. J.|author3= Eck, S.|author4= Somadikarta S. | year=2004 | title=Systematic notes on Asian birds. 45. Types of the Corvidae | journal= Leiden Zoologische Verhandelingen | volume= 350 | page= 121 | url =http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/43939&lt;/a&gt;}}</ref> is larger and has stronger feet than the nominate race.<ref name= Madge94/> It breeds in the rest of the depicted Asian range, mainly in the Himalayas.<ref name=BWP/>
[[Moravia]]n [[Paleontology|palaeontologist]] [[Ferdinand Stoliczka]] separated the Himalayan population as a third subspecies, ''P.&nbsp;g.&nbsp;forsythi'',<ref name= stoliczka >{{cite journal | last= Stoliczka | first= Ferdinand | year=1874 | title = Letter to the Editor, 10 September 1873, Camp Leh| journal = Stray Feathers: A Journal of Ornithology for India and Its Dependencies | volume= 2 | issue= 4 | pages= 461–463 | url = https://archive.org/stream/strayfeathersjou21874hume#page/462/mode/2up}}</ref> but this has not been widely accepted and is usually treated as [[synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]]ous with ''digitatus''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Vaurie|first=Charles|year=1954|title=Systematic notes on Palearctic birds. No. 4, The choughs (''Pyrrhocorax'')|journal=American Museum Novitates |issue=1658 |pages=6–7|hdl=2246/3595}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Rasmussen | first=Pamela C. | author-link = Pamela C. Rasmussen |author2=Anderton J. C. |author-link2=John C. Anderton  | year= 2006 | title=Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide| publisher=Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions | volume=2 | page=598| isbn=978-84-87334-67-2}}</ref> A [[Pleistocene]] form from Europe was similar to the extant subspecies, and is sometimes categorised as ''P.&nbsp;g.&nbsp;vetus''.<ref>(Hungarian with English abstract) Válóczi, Tibor (1999) "[https://matramuzeum.nhmus.hu/sites/default/files/nhmusfiles/kiadvanyok/folia/vol23/079-096.PDF Vaskapu-barlang (Bükk-hegység) felső pleisztocén faunájának vizsgálata (Investigation of the Upper-Pleistocene fauna of Vaskapu-Cave (Bükk-mountain))]. ''Folia historico naturalia musei Matraensis'' '''23''': 79–96</ref><ref>Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002) [http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf ''Cenozoic birds of the world''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520101755/http://www.nm.cz/download/JML-18-2002-CBE.pdf |date=20 May 2011 }} (Part 1: Europe). Ninox Press, Prague. {{Listed Invalid ISBN|80-901105-3-8}} p. 238</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mourer-Chauviré | first1 = C. | last2 = Philippe | first2 = M. | last3 = Quinif | first3 = Y. | last4 = Chaline | first4 = J. | last5 = Debard | first5 = E. | last6 = Guérin | first6 = C. | last7 = Hugueney | first7 = M. | year = 2003 | title = Position of the palaeontological site Aven I des Abîmes de La Fage, at Noailles (Corrèze, France), in the European Pleistocene chronology | journal = Boreas | volume = 32 | issue = 3| pages = 521–531 | doi = 10.1080/03009480310003405 | doi-broken-date = 18 December 2024 | bibcode = 2003Borea..32..521D }}</ref>

The Australian [[white-winged chough]], ''Corcorax melanorhamphos'', despite its similar bill shape and black plumage, is only distantly related to the true choughs.<ref name =ITIS2 >{{cite web|title=ITIS Standard Report Page: ''Corcorax'' |url= https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=557570|publisher= Integrated Taxonomic Information System |access-date=5 February 2008}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Yellow-billed_Chough_from_North_Sikkim,_India_November_2019.jpg|thumb|left|From [[North Sikkim]], [[India]].]]
The adult of the nominate subspecies of the Alpine chough has glossy black [[plumage]], a short yellow bill, dark brown [[Iris (anatomy)|irises]], and red legs.<ref name= Madge94/> It is slightly smaller than the red-billed chough, at {{convert|37|–|39|cm|in|abbr=off}} length with a {{convert|12|-|14|cm|in|abbr=on}} tail and a {{convert|75|-|85|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan, but has a proportionally longer tail and shorter wings. It has a similar buoyant and easy flight.<ref name=BWP>{{cite book| editor1-last = Snow | editor1-first = David |editor2-last = Perrins |editor2-first=Christopher M. | title = The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition (2 volumes) | publisher = Oxford University Press |year = 1998| location =Oxford |pages = 1464–1466 | isbn = 978-0-19-854099-1}}</ref> The sexes are identical in appearance, although the male averages slightly larger than the female. The juvenile is duller than the adult, with a dull yellow bill and brownish legs.<ref name= Madge94/> The Alpine chough is unlikely to be confused with any other species; although the jackdaw and red-billed chough share its range, the jackdaw is smaller and has unglossed grey plumage, and the red-billed chough has a long red bill.<ref name= BWP/>

The subspecies ''P.&nbsp;g.&nbsp;digitatus'' averages slightly larger than the nominate form, weighing {{convert|191|–|244|g|oz|abbr=on}} against {{convert|188|–|252|g|oz|abbr=on}} for ''P.&nbsp;g.&nbsp;graculus'', and it has stronger feet.<ref name= Madge94/><ref name=BWP/> This is in accordance with [[Bergmann's rule]], which predicts that the largest birds should be found higher elevations or in colder and more arid regions. The extremities of the body, the bill and [[tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]], are longer in warmer areas, in line with [[Allen's rule]]. Temperature seems to be the most important cause of body variation in the Alpine chough.<ref name=" Ecogeographic" >{{cite journal| last= Laiolo | first=Paola |author2=Rolando, Antonio| year= 2000 | title= Ecogeographic correlates of morphometric variation in the Red-billed Chough ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax ''and the Alpine Chough ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' | journal= Ibis | volume= 43 | issue = 3 | pages= 602–616 | doi = 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2001.tb04888.x}}</ref>

The flight of the Alpine chough is swift and acrobatic with loose, deep wing beats. Its high manoeuvrability is accomplished by fanning the tail, folding its wings, and soaring in the [[Vertical draft|updraughts]] at cliff faces. Even in flight, it can be distinguished from the red-billed chough by its less rectangular wings, and longer, less square-ended tail.<ref name= BWP/><ref name= burton>{{cite book |last = Burton |first = Robert |title = Bird behaviour |year = 1985 |page = [https://archive.org/details/birdbehaviour0000burt/page/22 22] |location = London |publisher = Granada |isbn = 978-0-246-12440-1 |url = https://archive.org/details/birdbehaviour0000burt/page/22 }}</ref>

The [[trill (music)|rippling]] {{Not a typo|''preep''}} and whistled {{Not a typo|''sweeeooo''}} calls of the Alpine chough are quite different from the more typically [[crow|crow-like]] {{Not a typo|''chee-ow''}} vocalisations of the jackdaw and the red-billed chough. It also has a rolling {{Not a typo|''churr''}} [[alarm signal|alarm call]], and a variety of quiet warbles and squeaks given by resting or feeding birds.<ref name= Madge94/> In a study of chough calls throughout the [[Palearctic realm|Palearctic region]] it was found that call [[audio frequency|frequencies]] in the Alpine chough showed an [[inverse relationship]] between body size and frequency, being higher-pitched in smaller-bodied populations.<ref name=Laiolo2001>{{cite journal |author= Laiolo, Paola |author2= Rolando, Antonio|author3= Delestrade, Anne|author4= de Sanctis, Augusto |year= 2001| title= Geographical variation in the calls of the choughs |journal= The Condor |volume= 103 |issue= 2 |pages= 287–297 |doi= 10.1650/0010-5422(2001)103[0287:GVITCO]2.0.CO;2|s2cid= 85866352|doi-access= free }}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Picos393.JPG|thumb|alt= high grey bare cliffs behind a meadow|Cliffs with nearby alpine pasture provide nesting sites.]]
The Alpine chough breeds in mountains from Spain eastwards through southern Europe and the [[Alps]] across [[Central Asia]] and the [[Himalayas]] to western China. There are also populations in [[Morocco]], [[Corsica]] and [[Crete]]. It is a [[bird migration|non-migratory resident]] throughout its range, although Moroccan birds have established a small colony near [[Málaga]] in southern Spain, and wanderers have reached [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Gibraltar]], [[Hungary]] and [[Cyprus]].<ref name= Madge94/>

This is a high-altitude species normally breeding between {{convert|1260|-|2880|m|ft}} in Europe, {{convert|2880|-|3900|m|ft|abbr=on}} in Morocco, and {{convert|3500|-|5000|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the Himalayas.<ref name= Madge94/> It has nested at {{convert|6500|m|ft|abbr=on}}, higher than any other bird species,<ref name= bahn>{{cite journal| last= Bahn | first= H. |author2=Ab, A. | year= 1974 | title= The avian egg: incubation time and water loss | journal= The Condor | volume= 76 | issue=2 | pages= 147–152 | url = http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v076n02/p0147-p0152.pdf | doi =10.2307/1366724 | jstor= 1366724}}</ref> surpassing even the red-billed chough, which has a diet less well adapted to the highest altitudes.<ref name =Rolando2/> It has been observed following mountaineers ascending [[Mount Everest]] at an altitude of {{convert|8200|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nature's champions: the biggest, the fastest, the best|author1=Silverstein Alvin |author2=Silverstein, Virginia | publisher = Courier Dover Publications |year=2003 | isbn=978-0-486-42888-8| page= 17}}</ref> It usually nests in cavities and fissures on inaccessible rock faces, although locally it will use holes between rocks in fields,<ref name= Baumgart >{{cite journal | last= Baumgart | first= W. | year= 1967| title= Alpendohlenkolonien in Felsschächten des Westbalkan | journal=Journal für Ornithologie | volume= 108 | pages= 341–345 | doi= 10.1007/BF01671883 | issue= 3 | bibcode= 1967JOrni.108..341B | s2cid= 41532963 |language=de}}</ref> and forages in open habitats such as [[alpine meadow]]s and [[scree|scree slope]]s to the [[tree line]] or lower, and in winter will often congregate around human settlements, [[ski resort]]s, hotels and other tourist facilities.<ref name= BWP/> Its penchant for waiting by hotel windows for food is popular with tourists, but less so with hotel owners.<ref name= goodwin/>

==Behaviour and ecology==

===Breeding===
[[File:Alpendohle Ei-3c.jpg|thumb|alt= A cream egg with light buff blotches|Eggs vary from cream to [[buff (colour)|buff]] to light-green, and have brown speckles.<ref name= Madge94/>]]
The Alpine chough is socially [[monogamy in animals|monogamous]], showing high partner fidelity in summer and winter and from year to year.<ref name= delestradesty>{{cite journal | last= Delestrade | first= Anne|author2=Stoyanov, Georgi | year= 1995| title= Breeding biology and survival of the Alpine Chough ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' | journal= Bird Study | volume=42 | pages=222–231 | doi =10.1080/00063659509477171 | issue= 3 | doi-access= free | bibcode= 1995BirdS..42..222D}}</ref> Nesting typically starts in early May, and is non-colonial, although in suitable habitat several pairs may nest in close proximity.<ref name= Madge94/> The bulky nests are composed of roots, sticks and plant stems lined with grass, fine twiglets or hair, and may be constructed on ledges, in a cave or similar fissure in a cliff face, or in an abandoned building. The [[clutch (eggs)|clutch]] is 3–5 glossy whitish eggs, averaging {{convert|33.9|x|24.9|mm|in}} in size,<ref name= Harrison>{{cite book| last = Harrison | first = Colin James Oliver | title = A field guide to the nests, eggs and nestlings of European birds: with North Africa and the Middle East | year =1975 | publisher = Collins | isbn = 978-0-00-219249-1 |page = 316}}</ref> which are tinged with buff, cream or light-green and marked with small brown blotches;<ref name = Madge94/> they are incubated by the female for 14–21 days before hatching.<ref name = BWP/> The chicks hatch with a dense covering of natal [[down feather|down]] — in contrast to those of the red-billed chough, which are almost naked<ref name=agd>{{cite book|title=Avian growth and development. Evolution within the altricial precocial spectrum. |author1=Starck, J Matthias |author2=Ricklefs, Robert E. |year=1948 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-510608-4 |page=7 |url=http://sci.bio.lmu.de/morpho/downloads/agd1.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081216211957/http://sci.bio.lmu.de/morpho/downloads/agd1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 December 2008 }}</ref> — and [[fledge]] 29–31 days from hatching.<ref name = BWP/> The young birds are fed by both parents, and may also be fed by other adults when they have fledged and joined the flock.<ref name = Madge94/> Breeding is possible in the high mountains because chough eggs have fewer pores than those of lowland species, reducing loss of water by evaporation at the low atmospheric pressure.<ref>{{cite journal | last= Rahn | first=H. |author2=Ar, A. | s2cid=27372255 | year= 1974 | title= The avian egg: incubation time and water loss | journal= The Condor | volume=76 | issue = 2 | pages= 147–152| doi =10.2307/1366724 | jstor = 1366724 }}</ref> The [[embryo]]s of bird species that breed at high altitude also have [[haemoglobin]] with a genetically determined high affinity for oxygen.<ref>{{cite journal | last= Black | first= Craig Patrick |author2=Snyder, Gregory K | year= 1980 | title= Oxygen transport in the avian egg at high altitude | journal= American Zoologist | volume= 20 | issue =2 | pages= 461–468 | doi = 10.1093/icb/20.2.461 | doi-access= free }}</ref>

In the western Italian Alps, the Alpine chough nests in a greater variety of sites than red-billed chough, using natural cliffs, pot-holes and abandoned buildings, whereas the red-billed uses only natural cliffs (although it nests in old buildings elsewhere).<ref name=Madge94/><ref name= Rolando2/><ref name= Blanco5>{{cite journal|last= Blanco |first= Guillermo |author2= Fargallo, Juan A.|author3= Tella, José Luis Cuevas |author4= Jesús A. |date=February–March 1997 |title= Role of buildings as nest-sites in the range expansion and conservation of choughs ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'' in Spain |journal=Biological Conservation |volume= 79 |issue=2–3 |pages=117–122 | doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(96)00118-8|bibcode= 1997BCons..79..117B |url=https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/58104/1/Bc12.pdf |hdl= 10261/58104 |hdl-access= free }}</ref> The Alpine chough lays its eggs about one month later than its relative, although breeding success and reproductive behaviour are similar. The similarities between the two species presumably arose because of the same strong environmental constraints on breeding behaviour.<ref name= Rolando2/>

A study of three different European populations showed a mean clutch size of 3.6 eggs, producing 2.6 chicks, of which 1.9 fledged. Adult survival rate varied from 83 to 92%, with no significant difference detected between males and females. Survival of first-year birds was, at 77%, lower than that of adults. The availability or otherwise of human food supplied from tourist activities did not affect breeding success.<ref name= delestradesty/>

===Feeding===
[[File:Pyrrhocorax graculus -Gornergrat Observatory, Switzerland -alps-8.jpg|alt= Visitors sitting at tables on a large balcony high in the Swiss Alps, and a chough is perching on a railing beside them.|A chough probably looking for supplementary food is perching on a railing alongside visitors to [[Gornergrat]], high in the Swiss Alps|thumb]]
In the summer, the Alpine chough feeds mainly on [[invertebrate]]s collected from pasture, such as [[beetle]]s (''[[Selatosomus aeneus]]'' and ''[[Otiorhynchus morio]]'' have been recorded from [[Pellet (ornithology)|pellets]]), [[snail]]s, [[grasshopper]]s, [[caterpillar]]s and [[fly]] [[larva]]e.<ref name= goodwin/> The diet in autumn, winter and early spring becomes mainly fruit, including [[berry|berries]] such as the European Hackberry (''[[Celtis australis]]'') and Sea-buckthorn (''[[Sea-buckthorn|Hippophae rhamnoides]]''),<ref name= goodwin/> [[rose hip]]s, and domesticated crops such as apples, grapes and pears where available.<ref name= LaioloCarisio/> It has been observed eating flowers of ''[[Crocus vernus|Crocus vernus albiflorus]]'', including the [[Gynoecium|pistils]], perhaps as a source of [[carotenoid]]s.<ref name= BCbirds>{{cite journal | last= McKibbin | first= René |author2=Bishop, Christine A. | year= 2008 | title= Feeding observations of the western Yellow-breasted Chat in the south Okanagan valley British Columbia, Canada during a seven-year study period | journal= British Columbia Birds | volume=18 | pages= 24–25 | url = http://bcfo.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/bcbvol18j.pdf}}</ref> The chough will readily supplement its winter diet with food provided by tourist activities in mountain regions, including ski resorts, [[landfill|refuse dump]]s and [[picnic|picnic areas]]. Where additional food is available, winter flocks are larger and contain a high proportion of immature birds. The young birds principally frequent the sites with the greatest food availability, such as refuse dumps.<ref name= Delestrade>{{cite journal | last= Delestrade | first= Anne | year= 1994| title= Factors affecting flock size in the Alpine Chough ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' | journal= Ibis | volume= 136 | pages= 91–96 | doi =10.1111/j.1474-919X.1994.tb08135.x }}</ref> Both chough species will hide food in cracks and fissures, concealing the cache with a few pebbles.<ref name= wall>{{cite book | last = Wall | first = Stephen B. Vander | title = Food hoarding in animals | year = 1990 | publisher = University of Chicago Press | isbn = 978-0-226-84735-1 | page = [https://archive.org/details/foodhoardinginan0000vand/page/306 306] | url = https://archive.org/details/foodhoardinginan0000vand/page/306 }}</ref>

This bird always forages in groups, which are larger in winter than summer, and have constant composition in each season. Where food resources are restricted, adults dominate young birds, and males outrank females.<ref name= delestradesty/> Foraging areas change altitudinally through the year, depending on climatic factors, food availability and food quality. During the breeding season, birds remain above the [[tree line]], although they may use food provided by tourists at refuges and picnic areas.<ref name= LaioloCarisio/>

Movement to lower levels begins after the first snowfalls, and feeding by day is mainly in or near valley bottoms when the snow cover deepens, although the birds return to the mountains to roost. In March and April the choughs frequent villages at valley tops or forage in snow-free patches prior to their return to the high meadows.<ref name=LaioloCarisio>{{cite journal|last=Laiolo |first=Paola |author2=Rolando, Antonio |author3=Carisio, Lorendana |title=Winter movements of the Alpine Chough: implications for management in the Alps |journal=Journal of Mountain Ecology |volume=6 |pages=21–30 |url=http://www.mountainecology.org/IBEX6/pdf/LAIOLO.pdf |date=2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705225109/http://www.mountainecology.org/IBEX6/pdf/LAIOLO.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2007 }}</ref> Feeding trips may cover {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} distance and {{convert|1600|m|ft|abbr=on}} in altitude. In the Alps, the development of skiing above {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}} has enabled more birds to remain at high levels in winter.<ref name = BWP/>

Where their ranges overlap, the two chough species may feed together in the summer, although there is only limited competition for food. An Italian study showed that the vegetable part of the winter diet for the red-billed chough was almost exclusively ''[[Gagea]]'' bulbs dug from the ground, whilst the Alpine chough took berries and hips. In June, red-billed choughs fed mainly on caterpillars whereas Alpine choughs ate [[Tipuloidea|crane fly]] [[pupa]]e. Later in the summer, the Alpine chough consumed large numbers of grasshoppers, while the red-billed chough added crane fly pupae, fly larvae and beetles to its diet.<ref name= Rolando2>{{cite journal|last= Rolando |first= Antonio |author2=Laiolo, Paola |date=April 1997 |title= A comparative analysis of the diets of the chough ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'' and the alpine chough ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' coexisting in the Alps |journal= Ibis | volume=139 |issue=2 |pages=388–395 |doi= 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1997.tb04639.x }}</ref> In the eastern Himalayas in November, Alpine choughs occur mainly in [[juniper]] forests where they feed on [[Juniper berry|juniper berries]], differing ecologically from the red-billed choughs in the same region and at the same time of year, which feed by digging in the soil of terraced pastures of villages.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Laiolo, Paola |year= 2003 |title= Ecological and behavioural divergence by foraging Red-billed ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'' and Alpine Choughs ''P. graculus'' in the Himalayas |url= http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15605736 |journal= Ardea |volume= 91 |issue= 2 |pages= 273–277 |access-date= 2 June 2009 |archive-date= 12 June 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120612070106/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15605736 |url-status= dead }} (abstract)</ref>

===Natural threats===
Predators of the choughs include the [[peregrine falcon]], [[golden eagle]] and [[Eurasian eagle-owl]], while the [[common raven]] will take nestlings.<ref name = birdwatchireland >{{cite web |title= A year in the life of Choughs |url= http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Default.aspx?tabid=206 |publisher= Birdwatch Ireland |access-date= 6 February 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160411234509/http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Default.aspx?tabid=206 |archive-date= 11 April 2016 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name = OperationChough>{{cite web|title= Know Your Crows |url= http://www.paradisepark.org.uk/choughs/crows.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140714160621/http://www.paradisepark.org.uk/choughs/crows.html |archive-date= 2014-07-14 |publisher= [[Operation Chough]] |access-date=5 July 2014}}</ref><ref name= Rolando >{{cite journal|last= Rolando |first= Antonio |author2= Caldoni, Riccardo|author3= De Sanctis, Augusto|author4= Laiolo, Paola |year= 2001|title= Vigilance and neighbour distance in foraging flocks of red-billed choughs, ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax'' |journal= Journal of Zoology|volume= 253|issue= 2| doi = 10.1017/S095283690100019X | pages= 225–232 }}</ref><ref name= Blanco>{{cite journal|last= Blanco |first= Guillermo |author2=Tella, José Luis |date=August 1997 |title= Protective association and breeding advantages of choughs nesting in lesser kestrel colonies |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume= 54|issue=2 |pages=335–342 | doi=10.1006/anbe.1996.0465 |pmid=9268465|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223037430|hdl= 10261/58091 |s2cid= 38852266 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
Alpine choughs have been observed diving at a Tibetan [[red fox]]. It seems likely that this "[[mobbing]]" behaviour may be play activity to give practice for when genuine defensive measures may be needed to protect eggs or young.<ref>{{cite journal| last= Blumstein | first= Daniel T.|author-link=Daniel T. Blumstein |author2=Foggin, J. Marc|date=March 1993 | title= Playing with fire? alpine choughs play with a Tibetan red fox | journal= Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society | volume= 90 | pages= 513–515 | url =https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48609784}}</ref>

The Alpine chough is a host of the widespread bird [[flea]] ''Ceratophyllus vagabunda'', two specialist chough fleas ''Frontopsylla frontalis'' and ''F.&nbsp;laetus'',<ref>{{cite book |title= Fleas, flukes and cuckoos. A study of bird parasites. |author= Rothschild, Miriam |author-link= Miriam Rothschild |author2=Clay, Theresa |author2-link=Theresa Clay |year= 1953 |publisher= Collins |location= London |pages= 89, 95 |url= https://archive.org/details/fleasflukescucko017900mbp }}</ref> a [[cestoda|cestode]] ''Choanotaenia pirinica'',<ref>(Russian) {{cite journal |author= Georgiev B. B. |author2= Kornyushin, VV.|author3= Genov, T. |year= 1987 |title= ''Choanotaenia pirinica'' sp. n. (Cestoda, Dilepididae), a parasite of ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' in Bulgaria |journal= Vestnik Zoologii |volume= 3 |pages= 3–7 }}</ref> and various species of [[chewing louse|chewing lice]] in the genera ''[[Brueelia]]'', ''[[Menacanthus]]'' and ''Philopterus''.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Kellogg, V. L. |author2= Paine, J. H. |year= 1914 |title= Mallophaga from birds (mostly Corvidae and Phasianidae) of India and neighbouring countries |journal= Records of the Indian Museum |volume= 10 |pages= 217–243 |url= http://phthiraptera.info/content/mallophaga-birds-mostly-corvidae-and-phasianidae-india-and-neighbouring-countries |doi= 10.5962/bhl.part.5626 |s2cid= 81701158 |access-date= 22 February 2013 |archive-date= 27 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210127141706/http://phthiraptera.info/content/mallophaga-birds-mostly-corvidae-and-phasianidae-india-and-neighbouring-countries |url-status= dead }}</ref>

==Status==
[[File:Pyrrhocorax-graculus-0020-a.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph showing the left side of an Alpine chough perched standing on rocky ground|In the [[Alps]], Innsbruck, Austria]]
The Alpine chough has an extensive though sometimes fragmented range, estimated at 1–10&nbsp;million&nbsp;square kilometres (0.4–3.8&nbsp;million sq mi), and a large population, including an estimated 260,000 to 620,000 individuals in Europe. The Corsican population has been estimated to comprise about 2,500 birds.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Delestrade, A. |title=Statut, distribution et abondance du chocard à bec jaune Pyrrhocorax graculus en Corse | trans-title = Status, distribution and abundance of the Alpine Chough ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' in Corsica, Mediterranean France |journal= Alauda |volume= 61 |issue= 1 |pages= 9–17 | language=fr | date=1993 | issn=0002-4619 }}</ref> Over its range as a whole, the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the global population decline criteria of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations), and is therefore evaluated as [[Least Concern]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

At the greatest extent of the [[last glacial period]] around 18,000 years ago, southern Europe was characterised by cold open habitats, and the Alpine chough was found as far as south as southern Italy, well outside its current range.<ref name= yalden>{{cite book | last = Yalden | first = Derek |author2=Albarella, Umberto | title = The history of British birds | url = https://archive.org/details/historybritishbi00yald | url-access = limited | year = 2009 | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-921751-9|pages = [https://archive.org/details/historybritishbi00yald/page/n50 44]–46 }}</ref> Some of these peripheral prehistoric populations persisted until recently, only to disappear within the last couple of centuries. In the [[Poland|Polish]] [[Tatra Mountains]], where a population had survived since the glacial period, it was not found as a breeding bird after the 19th century.<ref name = tomek>{{cite journal | last1 = Tomek | first1 = Teresa | last2 = Bocheński | first2 = Zygmunt | year = 2005 | title = Weichselian and Holocene bird remains from Komarowa Cave, Central Poland | journal = Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia | volume = 48A | issue = 1–2| pages = 43–65 | doi = 10.3409/173491505783995743 | doi-access = free }}</ref> In Bulgaria, the number of breeding sites fell from 77 between 1950 and 1981 to just 14 in the 1996 to 2006 period, and the number of pairs in the remaining colonies were much smaller. The decline was thought to be due to the loss of former open grasslands which had reverted to scrubby vegetation once extensive cattle grazing ceased.<ref name= Stoyanov>{{cite journal | last= Stoyanov | first= Georgi P. |author2= Ivanova, Teodora|author3= Petrov, Boyan P.|author4= Gueorguieva, Antoaneta | year=2008 | title= Past and present breeding distribution of the alpine chough (''Pyrrhocorax graculus'') in western Stara Planina and western Predbalkan Mts. (Bulgaria)| journal= Acta Zoologica Bulgarica | volume= Suppl. 2|url=http://www.acta-zoologica-bulgarica.eu/downloads/acta-zoologica-bulgarica/2008/supplement-2-119-132.pdf | pages= 119–132}}</ref> Foraging habitat can also be lost to human activities such as the construction of ski resorts and other tourist development on former alpine meadows.<ref name= rolandopatterson >{{cite journal | last= Rolando | first= Antonio |author2=Patterson, Ian James | year=1993 | title= Range and movements of the Alpine Chough ''Pyrrhocorax graculus'' in relation to human developments in the Italian Alps in summer | journal= Journal of Ornithology| volume= 134 | issue=3 | pages=338–344 | doi =10.1007/BF01640430 | bibcode= 1993JOrni.134..338R | s2cid= 21498755 }}</ref> Populations of choughs are stable or increasing in areas where traditional pastoral or other low intensity agriculture persists, but are declining or have become locally extinct where [[intensive farming]] methods have been introduced, such as [[Brittany]], England, south-west Portugal and mainland Scotland.<ref name= pain>{{cite journal| last= Pain | first= Debbie |author2=Dunn, Euan | year=1996 | title= The effects of agricultural intensification upon pastoral birds: lowland wet grasslands (The Netherlands) and transhumance (Spain) | journal= Wader Study Group Bulletin | volume= 81 | pages= 59–65 }}</ref>

Choughs can be locally threatened by the accumulation of [[pesticide]]s and [[heavy metal (chemistry)|heavy metals]] in the mountain soils, heavy rain, shooting and other human disturbances,<ref name= Stoyanov/> but a longer-term threat comes from [[global warming]], which would cause the species' preferred [[Alpine climate]] zone to shift to higher, more restricted areas, or locally to disappear entirely.<ref name= Sekercioglu>{{cite journal | last= Sekercioglu | first= Cagan H | author2= Schneider, Stephen H. | author3= Fay, John P. Loarie | author4= Scott R. | year= 2008 | title= Climate change, elevational range shifts, and bird extinctions | journal= Conservation Biology | volume= 22 | issue= 1 | pages= 140–150 | url= http://ecologia.icb.ufmg.br/~rpcoelho/comunidades/Artigos_2008/ecs08_26.pdf | doi= 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00852.x | pmid= 18254859 | bibcode= 2008ConBi..22..140S | s2cid= 36864195 | access-date= 24 May 2009 | archive-date= 19 July 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150719013130/http://www.ecologia.icb.ufmg.br/~rpcoelho/comunidades/Artigos_2008/ecs08_26.pdf | url-status= dead }}</ref> Fossils of both chough species were found in the mountains of the [[Canary Islands]]. The local extinction of the Alpine chough and the reduced range of red-billed chough in the islands may have been due to climate change or human activity.<ref name= rando>{{cite journal | last= Reyes | first= Juan Carlos Rando| year=2007 | title= New fossil records of choughs genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' in the Canary Islands: hypotheses to explain its extinction and current narrow distribution | journal= Ardeola | volume= 54| issue=2 | pages= 185–195|url=http://www.ardeola.org/files/1315.pdf }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Pyrrhocorax graculus|Pyrrhocorax graculus<br />(Alpine chough)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141202062950/http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/410_AlpineChoughPgraculus.pdf Ageing and sexing (PDF; 0.86 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze]
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/yellow-billed-chough-pyrrhocorax-graculus Alpine chough videos, photos & sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGTAQ22aEUE]

{{Corvidae|1}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q191386}}

[[Category:Pyrrhocorax]]
[[Category:Birds of Europe]]
[[Category:Birds of Asia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1766]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]