Bird Album
Black-billed Magpie
Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823)
177 gWeight
The black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia), also known as the American magpie, is a bird in the corvid family found in the western half of North America.
Busiest months: April–May · Most records: Canada, United States, United Kingdom
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: April–May · Most records: Canada, United States, United Kingdom
Black-billed Magpie has been recorded at 75 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 3 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Calgary – Inglewood Bird SanctuaryCanada14,143 records
- Calgary – Carburn ParkCanada11,767 records
- Cherry Creek SPUnited States10,304 records
More places
- Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWRUnited States6,574 records
- Walden Ponds Wildlife Habitat – Walden & Sawhill Ponds all togetherUnited States5,235 records
- Salmon Arm BayCanada4,764 records
- Calgary – Confederation ParkCanada4,707 records
- Bluff Lake Nature CenterUnited States4,577 records
- Calgary – Weaselhead Natural AreaCanada4,529 records
- Calgary – Griffith Woods ParkCanada4,526 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia), also known as the American magpie, is a bird in the corvid family found in the western half of North America. It is black and white, with the wings and tail showing black areas and iridescent hints of blue and blue-green. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of Pica pica (Eurasian magpie), but was separated as a species in its own in 2000 based on genetic studies.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Black-billed Magpie?
The Black-billed Magpie weighs around 177 g.
Where does the Black-billed Magpie live?
Its breeding range: North America: southern Alaska, western Canada and western USA to central Canada and central USA. It is most often recorded in Canada, United States and United Kingdom.
When is the best time to see the Black-billed Magpie?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April and May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Black-billed Magpie endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-billed Magpie as Least Concern.
What does the Black-billed Magpie eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Black-billed Magpie in?
It belongs to the family Crows, Jays (Corvidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Weight
- 177 g
- Habitat
- Grassland
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 203 mm
- Tail
- 262 mm
- Bill
- 39 mm
- Tarsus
- 48 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
North America: southern Alaska, western Canada and western USA to central Canada and central USA
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Crows, Jays Corvidae
- Genus
- Pica
Other birds in the genus Pica
Eurasian MagpiePica pica
Maghreb MagpiePica mauritanica
Asir MagpiePica asirensis
Black-rumped MagpiePica bottanensis
Oriental MagpiePica serica
Yellow-billed MagpiePica nuttallii
Malayan Black MagpiePlatysmurus leucopterus
Bornean Black MagpiePlatysmurus aterrimus
Siberian JayPerisoreus infaustus
Sichuan JayPerisoreus internigrans
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Vitalii Khustochka. ↗
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