Black-billed Magpie

Pica hudsonia

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family CORVIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A common and very conspicuous bird of western North America, the Black-billed Magpie is found in urban as well as rural areas. Its bold black-and-white pattern and long tail make it easy to identify

Cool Facts

• Until very recently the Black-billed Magpie was considered the same species as the Eurasian Magpie. Vocal and behavioral differences suggest that the American magpie with the black bill is more closely related to the Yellow-billed Magpie than to the European black-billed magpie. The Eurasian Magpie is found across a vast range from northern Africa across Europe to Southeast Asia and Siberia. It may in fact be several different species.
• The Black-billed Magpie makes a very large nest that can take up to 40 days to construct. It's a lot of work, but a study found that it only used about 1% of the daily energy expenditure of the pair. Laying eggs, on the other hand, takes 23% of the female's daily energy budget.

• Like most members of its family, the Black-billed Magpie is known as a predator on nests of other birds. Although it will take eggs and nestlings, these items actually make up only a tiny portion of the magpie's diet. In England, one study found that songbird density actually increased when Eurasian Magpie density increased.

• The Black-billed Magpie frequently lands on large mammals, such as deer and moose, to remove ticks from them. The magpie eats the ticks, and then hides some for later use, as members of the crow and jay family often do with excess food. Most of the ticks, however, are cached alive and unharmed, and may live to reproduce later.

Description

• Size: 45-60 cm (18-24 in)
• Wingspan: 56-61 cm (22-24 in)
• Weight: 145-210 g (5.12-7.41 ounces)

• Large black-and-white songbird.
• Long black tail.
• Black head and chest.
• White belly and shoulder.
• White patches in wings.

• Glossy iridescence on wings and tail.
• Tail feathers longest in center, tapering outward.
• Legs black.
• Bill stout and black.
• Eyes black.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult, but duller, with less iridescent upperparts

Similar Species

• Yellow-billed Magpie nearly identical, except it has a yellow bill, yellow skin around the eye, and is slightly larger.

Sound

Call a harsh, chattering "wock, wock wock-a-wock, wock, pjur, weer, weer."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident along southern Alaska coast, and from eastern British Columbia eastward to western Ontario and southward to northern Arizona.

Habitat

Found in thickets in riparian areas, meadows, grasslands, sagebrush, and around people.

Food

Ground-dwelling invertebrates, grain, acorns, carrion, and small mammals.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages primarily on ground. Holds food with feet and pecks it.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest a sturdy domed bowl, made primarily of sticks and mud. Lined with hair, grass, bark, or rootlets. Placed in tree, shrub, or on utility pole.

Egg Description

Tan or olive-brown with variable amount of dark brown speckles

Clutch Size

Usually 6-7 eggs. Range: 4-7.

Condition at Hatching

Naked and helpless.

Conservation Status

Common. Populations appear stable. May be expanding range eastward.

Other Names

Pie d'Amérique (French)

Sources used to construct this page:

1. Stanley, T. R. 2002. How many kilojoules does a Black-billed Magpie nest cost? Journal of Field Ornithology 73: 292-297.
2. Trost, C. H. 1999. Black-billed Magpie (Pica pica). In The Birds of North America, No. 389 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.