Yellow –billed Chough in Spiti

From the archive record

The yellow-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) is an easily distinguishable mountain-dwelling bird with a small, yellow, slightly decurved bill and bright red legs and feet. Its rounded tail projects well beyond its wingtips when at rest. The yellow-billed chough has blue-black, glossy feathers, which are slightly blue-green in colouration on the wings. The juvenile is similar in appearance to the adult, but its plumage is dull rather than glossy. The bill of the juvenile is horn-coloured and the legs are brown-black. The voice of the yellow-billed chough is a shrill, rippling cry. The yellow-billed chough has been observed flying at over 8,000 metres above sea level. A brilliant flier, it often plays in the air, suddenly tumbling and twisting or folding its wings, zooming downwards and c