Maghreb magpie

{{Short description|Species of bird}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Maghreb magpie

| taxon =

| image = Maghreb magpie (Pica mauritanica).jpg

| image_caption = In Souss-Massa, Morocco

| image2 = Maghreb (European) Magpie, Morocco.jpg

| image2_caption = Marrakech, Morocco

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2023 |title=Pica mauritanica |volume=2023 |page=e.T103727118A222832134 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T103727118A222832134.en |access-date=1 February 2024}}

| genus = Pica

| species = mauritanica

| authority = Malherbe, 1845

| range_map = PicaMauritanicaIUCN.svg

| range_map_caption = Range of P. mauritanica {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}}

}}

File:Pica pica mauritanica MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.169.9.jpg)]]

The Maghreb magpie (Pica mauritanica) is a species of magpie found in North Africa from Morocco east to Tunisia. It can be distinguished from the Eurasian magpie by the patch of blue skin behind its eye, the narrower white belly, the shorter wings, and the longer tail.{{cite web | last1=del Hoyo | first1=J. | last2=Collar | first2=N. | last3=Christie | first3=D.A. | year=2018 | title=Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | work=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | publisher=Lynx Edicions | url=http://www.hbw.com/node/55804 | access-date=20 July 2018 |url-access=subscription }}

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 found that the Maghreb magpie was sister to a clade containing all the other members of the genus Pica.{{ cite journal | last1=Song | first1=S. | last2=Zhang | first2=R. | last3=Alström | first3=P. | last4=Irestedt | first4=M. | last5=Cai | first5=T. | last6=Qu | first6=Y. | last7=Ericson | first7=P.G.P. | last8=Fjeldså | first8=J. | last9=Lei | first9=F. | year=2017 | title=Complete taxon sampling of the avian genus Pica (magpies) reveals ancient relictual populations and synchronous Late-Pleistocene demographic expansion across the Northern Hemisphere | journal=Journal of Avian Biology | volume=49 | issue=2 | pages=1–14 | doi=10.1111/jav.01612 | doi-access=free }}

In recent years, the population of Maghreb magpie in Tunisia has been experiencing a decline. Research has shown that depredation of nestlings by the southern grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis), Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) and black rats (Rattus rattus) were the most important causes of nest failure. The species is subject to brood parasitism by the great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius).{{Cite journal |last=Nefla |first=Aymen |last2=Ouni |first2=Ridha |last3=Selmi |first3=Slaheddine |last4=Nouira |first4=Saïd |date=2021-03-26 |title=Breeding biology of a relictual Maghreb Magpie (Pica mauritanica) population in Tunisia |url=https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 |journal=Avian Research |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=12 |doi=10.1186/s40657-021-00249-6 |doi-access=free }}