Elster
Predators of the choughs include the peregrine falcon, golden eagle and Eurasian eagle-owl, while the common raven will take nestlings. In northern Spain, red-billed choughs preferentially nest near lesser kestrel colonies; the falcon, which eats only insects, provides a degree of protection against larger predators, and the chough benefits in terms of a higher breeding success. The red-billed chough is occasionally parasitised by the great spotted cuckoo, a brood parasite for which the Eurasian magpie is the primary host.