Fun Rufous Treepie Facts For Kids

The rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) is a type of bird species belonging to the Corvidae family, genus Dendrocitta. This beautiful orange-brown bird can look quite striking but is known for its rather harsh, exuberant behavior which causes other wild birds to give them the cold shoulder.

It is usually found in Southeast Asia, in warm countries such as India, Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and more.

It is an arboreal bird, conducting all its feeding and breeding activities in trees, and is rarely seen on the ground.

Owing to their lifestyle among the trees and on the ground, they have adapted to become quite agile climbers, hopping up and down the branches with great speed and precision. They are very opportunistic birds and have been known to disrupt picnics and outdoor gatherings in search of food.

For more amaze-wing facts about this species, read on! For more relatable content, check out these little crow facts and red-crowned crane facts for kids.

Rufous Treepie Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a rufous treepie?

The rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) is a type of bird, and a member of the crow family Corvidae.

What class of animal does a rufous treepie belong to?

The rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) is a type of bird and belongs to the class of Aves.

How many rufous treepies are there in the world?

The exact number of rufous treepies available in the wild is currently unknown, however, this species is listed as of Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List, with its population abundantly available in the wild.

Where does a rufous treepie live?

Rufus treepies are native to Southeast Asia and can be found living in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia.

What is a rufous treepie's habitat?

The rufous treepie can be found in various types of deciduous forests, plantations, woodlands, and dry forests. It is usually found in low-lying areas, and can also be commonly spotted in parks and gardens.

Who do rufous treepies live with?

These Indian birds are mostly solitary and tend to drive off other birds with their loud, harsh calls.

How long does a rufous treepie live?

Unfortunately, there is no information available on how long these birds live.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding period of this bird species extends from March to July. The breeding period varies slightly from region to region, depending on the rainy season.

Birds pair up and build their nest on the top of trees or in bushes, made out of twigs and well concealed by the natural foliage.

After mating, the female lays around three to five light brown eggs which are guarded and incubated by both parents until they hatch. After the young hatch, the parents take turns bringing them food until they are ready to leave the nest.

What is their conservation status?

According to the IUCN Red List, this bird species is currently listed as of Least Concern and is not rare.

Rufous Treepie Fun Facts

What do rufous treepies look like?

The long-tailed rufous treepie adult is quite colorful, with an ashy black head and breast. Its body is a red-brown orange, with its tail feathers being black interspersed with light gray.

Its wing feathers follow a similar color combination, being black with a white-gray band down the outside. It has a black bill, legs, and feet, with the bill having a slight hook at the tip.

Its eyes are deep red with black pupils. The young bird is duller in color, with their head, neck, and wings being brown, while the white parts remain the same.

How cute are they?

With their warm, cinnamon coloring these birds are quite beautiful and can be stunning to look at in full flight.

How do they communicate?

The rufous treepie's call is quite varied, with its most common one being a screeching 'bob-o-link' or 'ko-tree', after which its Hindi name Kotri is derived. It is a noisy bird in general, its calls being described as squawking and at times musical, with its alarm calls being quite harsh.

How big is a rufous treepie?

The rufous treepie species ranges in length from 17.7-21.6 in (45-55 cm), being a medium-sized bird. They are three to four times bigger than chimney swifts.

How fast can a rufous treepie fly?

Though the exact flight speed of this arboreal bird species is unknown, it is known to be quite an adept flier and is quite active. It is an agile climber and can move quite quickly among the branches in search of food. It has a distinct dipping flight that is quite jerky.

How much does a rufous treepie weigh?

These birds have been observed to weigh between 3.2-5.6 oz (90-160 g). They are bigger than swallows.

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for either sex of this species.

What would you call a baby rufous treepie?

Baby rufous treepie birds as known as chicks, fledglings, or hatchlings.

What do they eat?

The rufous treepie diet is omnivorous in nature, they are known to be opportunistic in nature and feed on whatever they are able to get their claws on.

They can be found feeding mostly on food found in and among the trees and on the ground, such as fruits, seeds, small lizards, invertebrates, as well as the eggs of other birds and other small birds themselves.

Are they dangerous?

No, despite their showy personalities and loud harsh calls, these birds are not dangerous towards humans.

Would they make a good pet?

This bird species would probably not make good pets, as they are quite loud and harsh in nature. Being a member of the crow family Corvidae, they do share some of their characteristics, being loud and greedy in nature.

They are also known to be attracted to and steal small shiny objects, which might make them a bit of a nuisance. They spend most of their time in trees, their ideal habitat being dense forests, which may make providing them with a proper enclosure quite tough.

Did you know...

They are scavengers and eat the flesh of recently killed carcasses, similar to vultures.

Their magpie-like tendency to search for and steal shiny objects gets these birds into a lot of trouble with the locals in India, even earning them the name coin thief!

Another rufous treepie name is the wandering treepie, owing to its agile, active magpie-like behavior.

It often follows large cattle and mammals in order to feed on any insects flushed out by the animals while they are feeding.

There are eight subspecies of the rufous treepie, with each subspecies having subtle variations depending from region to region.

Due to its tendency to eat insects off the ground, it is considered quite helpful to plantation owners and farmers as they get rid of pests naturally.

How did rufous treepies get their name?

The rufous treepie Indian name is 'taka chor' in Bengali or Hindi, which literally translates to coin thief. It was given this name due to its magpie-like tendency to steal and collect small shiny objects such as jewelry, coins, and other small trinkets. Its other local names are 'kotri' and 'handi chancha'.

The name rufous treepie alludes to their striking orange-cinnamon-colored underparts, which is how they can be identified.

Are rufous treepies friendly?

These birds have been described as quite rude, probably due to their loud harsh calls and exuberant personalities. They have been observed to be quite attention-seeking in nature, and seem to sulk if not given the attention they desire.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our yellow-billed cuckoo fun facts and black-billed cuckoo interesting facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable rufous treepie coloring pages.