Chough
Description: Manx name: Caaig (also 're-legged king of the crows')
With their distinctive red beaks and legs and ringing 'chow' call, choughs are easily recognised in the Isle Man where they thrive, especially along the coast and grassland of the south west. There are between 121 and 150 Manx breeding pairs (Manx Bird Atlas, 2007), a figure which compares favourably with those for the patchily distributed populations in the adjacent UK. Choughs do well here because there are still plenty of places to feed throughout the year. They forage for insects and other invertebrates in a variety of habitats, but are mostly adapted to probing for grubs hidden in the soil of pastureland, especially that which is well grazed and manured by livestock. In the winter, flocks of choughs will often turn to feeding along the strandline of the Island's beaches, picking out fly and beetle grubs which inhabit rotting seaweed. The Isle of Man's rocky coastline provides nesting places on tall sea cliffs which offer protection from predators.
References: Sharpe, C.M. (ed) 2007. Manx Bird Atlas. Liverpool University Press.
Date found: 2007-01-15
Taxonomic name: Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
Collection: Natural History Zoology Collection
ID number: 2008-0156