In the summer, both choughs feed mainly on invertebrates such as beetles, snails, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and fly larvae.
Ants are a favoured food of the red-billed chough.
Prey items are taken from short grazed pasture, or in the case of coastal populations of red-billed chough, areas where plant growth is hindered by exposure to coastal salt spray or poor soils.
The chough's bill may be used to pick insects off the surface, or to dig for grubs and other invertebrates.
The red-billed chough typically excavates to 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) in the thin soils of its feeding areas, but it may dig to 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) in suitable conditions.

Plant matter is also eaten, and red-billed chough will take fallen grain where the opportunity arises; it has been reported as damaging barley crops by breaking off the ripening heads to extract the corn.
Alpine choughs rely more on fruit and berries at times of year when animal prey is limited, and will readily supplement their winter diet with food provided by tourist activities in mountain regions, including ski resorts, refuse dumps and picnic areas.
Both Pyrrhocorax species feed in flocks on open areas, often some distance from the breeding cliffs, particularly in winter.
Feeding trips may cover 20 km (12 mi) distance and 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in altitude.
In the Alps, the development of skiing above 3,000 m (9,800 ft) has enabled more Alpine choughs to remain at high levels in winter.

Where their ranges overlap, the two chough species may feed together in the summer, although there is only limited competition for food.
An Italian study showed that the vegetable part of the winter diet for the red-billed chough was almost exclusively Gagea bulbs, whilst the Alpine chough took berries and hips.
In June, red-billed choughs fed mainly on caterpillars whereas Alpine choughs ate cranefly pupae.
Later in the summer, the Alpine chough consumed large numbers of grasshoppers, while the red-billed chough added cranefly pupae, fly larvae and beetles to its diet.
In the eastern Himalayas in November, Alpine choughs occur mainly in Juniper forests where they feed on juniper berries, differing ecologically from the red-billed choughs in the same region and at the same time of year, which dig for food in the soil of the villages' terraced pastures.
In the summer, both choughs feed mainly on invertebrates such as beetles, snails, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and fly larvae. Ants are a favoured food of the red-billed chough. Prey items are taken from short grazed pasture, or in the case of coastal populations of red-billed chough, areas where plant growth is hindered by exposure to coastal salt spray or poor soils. The chough's bill may be used to pick insects off the surface, or to dig for grubs and other invertebrates. The red-billed chough typically excavates to 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) in the thin soils of its feeding areas, but it may dig to 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) in suitable conditions.
Plant matter is also eaten, and red-billed chough will take fallen grain where the opportunity arises; it has been reported as damaging barley crops by breaking off the ripening heads to extract the corn. Alpine choughs rely more on fruit and berries at times of year when animal prey is limited, and will readily supplement their winter diet with food provided by tourist activities in mountain regions, including ski resorts, refuse dumps and picnic areas. Both Pyrrhocorax species feed in flocks on open areas, often some distance from the breeding cliffs, particularly in winter. Feeding trips may cover 20 km (12 mi) distance and 1,600 m (5,200 ft) in altitude. In the Alps, the development of skiing above 3,000 m (9,800 ft) has enabled more Alpine choughs to remain at high levels in winter.
Where their ranges overlap, the two chough species may feed together in the summer, although there is only limited competition for food. An Italian study showed that the vegetable part of the winter diet for the red-billed chough was almost exclusively Gagea bulbs, whilst the Alpine chough took berries and hips. In June, red-billed choughs fed mainly on caterpillars whereas Alpine choughs ate cranefly pupae. Later in the summer, the Alpine chough consumed large numbers of grasshoppers, while the red-billed chough added cranefly pupae, fly larvae and beetles to its diet. In the eastern Himalayas in November, Alpine choughs occur mainly in Juniper forests where they feed on juniper berries, differing ecologically from the red-billed choughs in the same region and at the same time of year, which dig for food in the soil of the villages' terraced pastures.
Chough