The Iberian Azure-winged Magpie is still lumped with the Asian Azure-winged C. cyanus by some authorities. The former is distributed in the Iberian Peninsula (See the distribution map at Birdlife International while the latter is found at a great distance in the Far East. One story was that Portuguese explorers brought the birds back from the Far East but molecular evidence, smaller size and some plumage and vocal differences suggest that they are two species.