Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttallii)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Yellow-billed Magpie

Pica nuttallii (Audubon, 1837)

The yellow-billed magpie (Pica nuttallii), also known as the California magpie, is a bird that is endemic to California's Central Valley and the adjacent chaparral foothills and mountains.

Busiest months: April–May and September · Most records: United States

Vulnerable

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: April–May and September · Most records: United States

Yellow-billed Magpie has been recorded at 15 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Putah Creek Riparian ReserveUnited States4,289 records
  2. Sedgwick ReserveUnited States1,488 records
  3. American River Parkway – Sailor BarUnited States532 records
More places
  1. Cosumnes River PreserveUnited States379 records
  2. Gray Lodge Wildlife AreaUnited States283 records
  3. Sacramento NWR – Auto Route & Visitor CenterUnited States174 records
  4. Yolo Bypass Wildlife AreaUnited States149 records
  5. Woodland WTPUnited States30 records
  6. Morro Bay SP – Marina/Boardwalk TrailUnited States20 records
  7. Ulistac Natural AreaUnited States2 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States

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 yellow-billed magpie (Pica nuttallii), also known as the California magpie, is a bird that is endemic to California's Central Valley and the adjacent chaparral foothills and mountains. Apart from its having a yellow bill and a yellow streak around the eye and being slightly smaller, it is virtually identical to the black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) found in much of the rest of western North America. The scientific name commemorates the English naturalist Thomas Nuttall.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

Where does the Yellow-billed Magpie live?

Its breeding range: North America: California. It is most often recorded in United States.

When is the best time to see the Yellow-billed Magpie?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April, May and September (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Yellow-billed Magpie endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Yellow-billed Magpie as Vulnerable.

What family is the Yellow-billed Magpie in?

It belongs to the family Crows, Jays (Corvidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Conservation
Vulnerable

Range

North America: California

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 MagpieEurasian MagpiePica picaMaghreb MagpieMaghreb MagpiePica mauritanicaAsir MagpieAsir MagpiePica asirensisBlack-rumped MagpieBlack-rumped MagpiePica bottanensisOriental MagpieOriental MagpiePica sericaBlack-billed MagpieBlack-billed MagpiePica hudsoniaMalayan Black MagpieMalayan Black MagpiePlatysmurus leucopterusBornean Black MagpieBornean Black MagpiePlatysmurus aterrimusSiberian JaySiberian JayPerisoreus infaustusSichuan JaySichuan JayPerisoreus internigrans
Yellow-billed Magpie

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Lauren Glevanik. ↗

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