NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Oriental Magpie
Pica serica Gould, 1845
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 Oriental magpie (Pica serica) is a species of magpie found from southeastern Russia to eastern China, Korea, Taiwan, and northern Indochina and Myanmar. It is also naturalised in Japan. Other names include Korean magpie, Chinese magpie and Asian magpie. The scientific name serica means "silky [texture]" or "Chinese"; this is the original spelling, though sometimes erroneously "corrected" to sericea.
Wikipedia contributors, Oriental magpie; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:45:56.500794+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pica serica Gould, 1845
- Name authority
- Gould, 1845
- Common name
- Oriental Magpie
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Pica
- 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
- genusPica Brisson, 1760
- speciesPica serica Gould, 1845
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pica. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-billed MagpiePica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Yellow-billed MagpiePica nutallii (Audubon, 1837) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Asir MagpiePica asirensis G. L. Bates, 1936 | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian MagpiePica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) | CorvidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)
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.
- Gould, & John. (1845). January 14, 1845. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Vol. 13, No. 143. 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:S5WWB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.