Taiwan - Formosan Blue Magpie

Formosan Blue Magpie of Taiwan.

Sent by Yen_Chun, a postcrosser from Taiwan.

This is from Wikipedia : The Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea), also called the Taiwan Magpie (traditional Chinese: 臺灣藍鵲; pinyin: Táiwān lán què) or the "long-tailed mountain lady" (traditional Chinese: 長尾山娘; pinyin: Chángwěi shānniáng; Taiwanese: Tn̂g-boé soaⁿ-niû), is a member of the Crow family. It is an endemic species living in the mountains of Taiwan at elevations of 300 to 1200m.

In 2007 National Bird Voting Campaign held by Taiwan International Birding Association, there were over 1 million votes cast from 53 countries. Formosan Blue Magpie defeated Mikado Pheasant and was chosen as Taiwan's national bird, though it has yet to be formally accepted.

Formosan Blue Magpie is about the size of European Magpie, but with a longer tail. It is 64-65 centimetres in length. Wing measures 18-21 centimetres and tail measures 40 centimetres in length.

The colors of male and female look alike. Its head, neck and breast are black; eyes are iridescent yellow; bill and legs are red; the rest of the plumage on the bird is a rich dark blue to purple in color. It also has white markings on the wings and the tail.