Chough guide: call, what they eat and where to see them

Chough guide: call, what they eat and where to see them

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

Published: November 3, 2023 at 10:41 am

What is a chough?

The red-billed chough is a corvid – a member of the crow family – and boasts a glossy black plumage, bright red beak and red legs.

Chough call

Choughs have a very distinctive call, a clear and loud chee-ow sound.

Listen to the call of the chough/Credit: Midlandsbirder

What do choughs eat?

Beetles, ants, fly larvae are key food items; choughs also eat spiders, earthworms, berries and even cereal grains.

Chough habitat

Coastal areas and sheep-grazed grassland pastures.

Bird on a rock
Choughs roost on rock crevices and ledges/Credit: Getty

Chough behaviour

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.

Nesting and breeding

Breeding pairs build nests out of twigs, moss, grass and animal fur. These nests are sited in caves, rock faces and buildings.

Chough distribution

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 chough population in Cornwall, which is the result of a recolonisation by the birds in 2001. A reintroduction scheme in Jersey in 2010 has produced many breeding pairs.

A handful of choughs were released in Dover in Kent in July 2023. Since their release, they have spread their wings and grown stronger, flying further and exploring new territories.

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