![]() This opportunism also leads to their tangled relations with humans. They also eat bird eggs and fledglings, although research has shown this to be only a minor part of their diet. They eat fruit, bird feed, small mammals and garbage. They feast on carrion, and it’s a common sight along Western roads to see a flock perched on roadkill. The bulk of a typical magpie’s diet is made up of insects, but they’re opportunists. They also have a complex social hierarchy the Cornell Lab of Ornithology reports that “In groups, males establish dominance through a stretch display: raising the bill in the air and flashing their white eyelids.” ![]() Like other corvids, they’re highly intelligent birds. Intelligent Opportunistsīlack-billed magpies are corvids, in the same family as crows, ravens and jays. It’s easy to forget that, not so long ago, the black-billed magpie was one of the most vilified birds in North America, if not the world. But for the most part, the magpie escapes notice. Sure, they may wake us with their raucus calls, or annoy us when they raid a fruit tree. Today, even those of us familiar with magpies mostly enjoy seeing the bird. While those of us living here may see them daily around our neighborhoods, those outside the region appreciate the bird’s beauty and antics.Īnd this magpie appreciation is a welcome shift from past attitudes. ![]() I also know that magpies are real crowd pleasers for visitors to Western U.S. The magpie’s striking plumage do resemble a tuxedo, even if sunlight reveals the “black” feathers are actually an iridescent blue-green. I admit it: My first impulse was to roll my eyes at this description of one of the most visible birds around my home in the Western United States, the black-billed magpie ( Pica hudsonia). They own a hankering for warm blood and red meat that is little short of phenomenal.” – Bert Popowski, “Magpies are Murder!”, Calling All Varmints (1952)Īs I finished my hike, I heard another visitor at the trailhead exclaim: “I just saw one of those cute tuxedo birds!” Actually, for their size and weight, magpies are probably the most murderous fiends of the whole avian world. ![]()
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