NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-winged Magpie
Urocissa whiteheadi Ogilvie-Grant, 1899
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-winged magpie or Hainan magpie (Urocissa whiteheadi) is a passerine bird of the crow family, Corvidae. It is unusual among the members of its genus in that it is black and white, lacking the blue plumage other Urocissa magpies have. Thus, it is sometimes placed in its own monotypic genus, Cissopica, though it appears to have sufficient features to remain in the genus Urocissa. There are two subspecies, the nominate whiteheadi being found in Hainan and xanthomelana found in southern China, northern Vietnam, and north and central Laos. The two subspecies are distinctive and may merit specific status; further research is needed.
The binomial commemorates the British explorer John Whitehead.
Wikipedia contributors, White-winged magpie; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:39:36.900761+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Urocissa whiteheadi Ogilvie-Grant, 1899
- Name authority
- Ogilvie-Grant, 1899
- Common name
- White-winged Magpie
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Urocissa
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCorvidae Leach, 1820
- genusUrocissa Cabanis, 1851
- speciesUrocissa whiteheadi Ogilvie-Grant, 1899
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Urocissa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow-billed Blue MagpieUrocissa flavirostris (Blyth, 1846) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-billed Blue MagpieUrocissa erythroryncha (Boddaert, 1783) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Taiwan Blue MagpieUrocissa caerulea Gould, 1863 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Ogilvie-Grant, & William Robert. (1899). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, Vol. 10, No. 19. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:7DTRP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.