Description:

Medium-sized, relatively small-headed corvid with fairly long tail. Shorter and straighter yellow bill is best feature from Red-billed. In flight, has narrower wing-tips with less pronounced fingered primaries, more pronounced curve to trailing edge of wing, and longer rounded tail. Juvenile lacks metallic gloss.

Distribution:

Common resident and altitudinal migrant at higher elevations all across Gilgit-Baltistan. Found in high-altitude mountain pastures with rocky crags above tree-line, descending into upper valleys in winter. Altitude range from 2000m to 5000m.

Behavior:

Flaps clumsily in bushes when feeding on berries, but usually forages on ground, often in flocks of several hundred individuals. On ground walks with shuffling gait or hops, with tail somewhat depressed, flicking wings and tail as it calls. Feeds by pecking at surface in manner of a starling. Primarily feeds on invertebrates in spring and summer, with more varied diet in autumn and winter.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Yellow-billed Chough in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Yellow-billed Chough

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.