Indochinese green magpie

Description

The Indochinese green magpie (Cissa hypoleuca) or yellow-breasted magpie, is a passerine bird of the crow family, Corvidae. It is native to mainland southeast Asia (Indochina) and adjacent China. This species' yellow undersides make it distinct from the other species in its genus. They have russet coloured wings, with green shoulders, back, head and tail. They also have a thick black band marking from the bill, all the way round the head. The beak, legs and eye rings of this species are a vivid red, while their eyes are a very dark brown. As with all magpies in the Cissa genus, their green plumage comes from the pigment lutein, which will fade to blue if the bird has an insufficient diet, and supposedly if exposed to bright or direct sunlight for too long (due to the fragility of the pigment). Cissa is a genus of relatively short-tailed magpies, sometimes known as hunting cissas, that reside in the forests of tropical and subtropical southeast Asia and adjacent regions. The four species are quite similar with bright red bills, a mainly green plumage, black mask, and rufous wings. Due to excess exposure to sunlight (and, possibly, a low-carotenoid diet), they often appear rather turquoise (instead of green) in captivity. They are carnivorous, and mainly feed on arthropods and small vertebrates. The genus was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826 with the common green magpie (Cissa chinensis) as the type species. The name Cissa is from the Ancient Greek kissa meaning a "jay" or "magpie".