The RSPB. British Hedgehog Preservation Society BHPS. Chough. Print page 16 April 2013 This red-legged, red-billed member of the crow family earned itself the name 'Cornish chough' because of its close association with the Duchy for several hundred years.
The chough's symbolism for Cornwall can be easily found for it features on the coat of arms, proudly sitting on top of the crest flanked by a tin miner and fisherman as a striking reminder of Cornwall’s proud traditions. The chough's Cornish name, Palores, means Digger, a reference no doubt to its habit of digging away at loose soil to find invertebrates. In Wales and Scotland during the 17th Century, where choughs would also have been common, the chough was known as the Crow of Cornwall.