Black-rumped Magpie

The black-rumped magpie is a black-and-white magpie with a black rump, brighter plumage, a stouter bill and a shorter tail than the Oriental and Eurasian magpies. The wings and tail are glossed green-blue to purple, the flanks and central underparts are white, and the primaries show large white stripes in flight. It was described by Adolphe Delessert in 1840, and its species name comes from the old French name for Bhutan, Bottan or Boutan (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives on or near the Tibetan Plateau in farmland, semi-open country and gardens, usually close to people at least in Bhutan, and has been seen up to 4,800m. It feeds mostly on the ground, side-hopping to catch prey, and sometimes perches on cattle and sheep to pick off parasites. Pairs are monogamous and long-lasting; both build a large domed nest of twigs from late March, and 4 to 5 eggs are laid between April and June. It was long treated as a subspecies of the Eurasian magpie, but a 2018 molecular study restored species rank (Wikipedia, general species account).