{"id":31864,"date":"2023-11-03T11:41:49","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T10:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/c735b1af-942d-4d6c-b279-1ee757d99eba"},"modified":"2023-11-03T14:39:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T13:39:25","slug":"chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Chough guide: call, what they eat and where to see them"},"content":{"rendered":"

What are choughs, what is their call and where can you see these red-billed members of the crow family in the UK? <\/p>

By Maria Hodson\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 03 November 2023 at 10:41 AM<\/p>

\n\n

What is a chough?<\/h2>
The red-billed chough is a corvid \u2013 a member of the crow family<\/a> \u2013 and boasts a glossy black plumage, bright red beak and red legs.<\/p>

Chough call<\/h2>
Choughs have a very distinctive call, a clear and loud chee-ow<\/em> sound.<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Listen to the call of the chough\/Credit: Midlandsbirder<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2>What do choughs eat?<\/h2><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/insects-invertebrates\/british-beetle-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beetles<\/a>, ants, fly larvae are key food items; choughs also eat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/insects-invertebrates\/british-spider-guide-common-species-to-identify-and-where-to-find-them\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">spiders<\/a>, earthworms, berries and even cereal grains.<\/p><h2>Chough habitat<\/h2><p>Coastal areas and sheep-grazed grassland pastures.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Choughs roost on rock crevices and ledges\/Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2>Chough behaviour<\/h2><p>They form colonies and roost on rock crevices, ledges, cliff faces and abandoned buildings. They roost communally, outside of breeding season. Choughs pair for life with a single mate, and feed in pairs within a larger flock of birds.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/animals-that-mate-for-life\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Which other animals pair for life?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2>Nesting and breeding<\/h2><p>Breeding pairs build nests out of twigs, moss, grass and animal fur. These nests are sited in caves, rock faces and buildings.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/birds\/terns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tern guide: UK species and how to identify them<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/how-to-identify\/guide-to-britains-geese-how-to-identify-and-where-to-see\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Guide to Britain\u2019s geese species: how to identify and where to see<\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2>Chough distribution<\/h2><p>Fewer than 250 pairs in the UK. Once widespread, the chough is now restricted to west coast of Ireland and Wales as well as a small isolated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/cornish-choughs-enjoy-record-breaking-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chough population in Cornwall<\/a>, which is the result of a recolonisation by the birds in 2001. A reintroduction scheme in Jersey in 2010 has produced many breeding pairs.<\/p><p>A handful of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/news\/chough-reintroduction-kent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">choughs were released in Dover in Kent<\/a> in July 2023. Since their release, they have spread their wings and grown stronger, flying further and exploring new territories.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are choughs, what is their call and where can you see these red-billed members of the crow family in the UK? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":31865,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them.jpg",725,482,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them-300x199.jpg",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them.jpg",725,482,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them.jpg",725,482,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them.jpg",725,482,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/11\/chough-guide-call-what-they-eat-and-where-to-see-them.jpg",725,482,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What are choughs, what is their call and where can you see these red-billed members of the crow family in the UK?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/31864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

What is a chough?<\/h2>The red-billed chough is a corvid \u2013 a member of the crow family<\/a> \u2013 and boasts a glossy black plumage, bright red beak and red legs.<\/p>

What is a chough?<\/h2>
The red-billed chough is a corvid \u2013 a member of the crow family<\/a> \u2013 and boasts a glossy black plumage, bright red beak and red legs.<\/p>