Critical Role BIRD WATCH: C4E24
Time to First Bird (TTFB): 00:35:31 (+00:09:34 from C4E23)
Total Species Mentioned: 3 (-1 from C4E23)
Falcon -> Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis)
Pigeon -> Afep Pigeon (Columba unicincta)
Magpie -> Asir Magpie (Pica asirensis)
In honor of our Schemer's patron bird, it's time for a...
...on magpies! True magpies are members of several genera in the the Corvidae family. That's right - magpies are corvids, just like crows and ravens. And much like their other corvid family members, magpies are highly intelligent and gifted at mimicry. We even got some fun and true magpie facts in the episode (thank you Liam!).
There are four genera of true magpies:
Blue and green magpies of genera Urocissa and Cissa
Azure-winged magpies of genus Cyanopica
Holoarctic (black and white) magpies of genus Pica
...which may or may not form a monophyletic group, depending on who you ask (hooray for morphology-based phylogeny). But, the family is at least a bit neater than our nightingales.
There's are some false magpies, some falser than others. The main one is the Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), which is actually not a corvid at all and in fact a member of family Artamidae. Though unrelated, Australian magpies do share the intelligent and mischevous natures of corvids. Most of our false magpies earned their name from the black and white pied plumage which resemble our true magpies, especially the Holoarctic species.
And of the incredibly false magpies, there's the Magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata), which I include because it entertains me.
In conclusion, magpies are an excellent choice of mascot for our Schemers' scheming. Enjoy a magpie gallery below! IDs in alt text.
(questions? need to catch up? CR4 Bird Watch field guide!)
