Black-billed Magpie with its head cocked, Antelope Island State Park, Utah

Black-billed Magpie Images, Facts and Information:

Pica hudsonia

  • Black-billed Magpies have bold black and white plumage with a very long tail, some areas of their plumage have blue, purple and green iridescence that can be seen in the right light. They are slightly larger than jays.
  • Black-billed Magpies are from the corvid family and are very intelligent.
  • Black-billed Magpies can be found throughout much of western North America and are not migratory.
  • Black-billed Magpies can use scent to locate food. They consume a wide variety of food and will scavenge carrion. Black-billed Magpies eat fruits, grains, insects, small mammals and they will also raid nests of other birds to eat the young and eggs and they will perch on large mammals like Bison to pick insects off of them.
  • Black-billed Magpies lay 7 to 13 eggs which take between 16 to 21 days to hatch. Their nests can take a long time to build because they generally build a dome over it to protect their young from aerial predators. The nests are constructed with sticks, mud or manure and they line it with grasses. They are monogamous.
  • Black-billed Magpies prefer open habitats such as prairies, grasslands, meadows, foothills and sagebrush steppes that offer some cover in the form of shrubs or trees. They adapt well to suburban habitats.
  • A group of magpies can be called a “tribe”, “tittering”, “gulp”, “charm” and a “mischief” of magpies.
  • Black-billed Magpies can live up to 15 years.

I hope you enjoy viewing my Black-billed Magpie photos.

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