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Yellow-billed Magpie

Pica nuttalliOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Crows and Jays (Corvidae)

Yellow-billed magpie Portrait
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General

Yellow-billed Magpie: Large jay with black hood, back and breast, featherless, pale yellow spot behind eye, and white belly. Bill is yellow. Upperwings are iridescent blue-green with large white shoulder patches. Tail is iridescent green-black, very long, and wedge-shaped. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has dark bill and lacks eye spot.

Range and Habitat

Yellow-billed Magpie: Resident in California's Central Valley and adjacent foothills. Preferred habitats include oak savannas, oak woods, riverside growth, ranches, and suburbs.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"kwah-kwah-kwah"

Interesting Facts

 The ancestors of the Yellow-billed Magpie likely became isolated in California very soon after they colonized North America some 3 to 4 millions years ago. This was due to ice ages and the uplift of the Sierra Nevada.

 In one type of display, neighboring birds will walk side-by-side along the boundary of their two territories often with tails held upright.

 It is believed that these birds have declined significantly in population since the arrival of West Nile virus in California in 2004.

 A group of magpies has many collective nouns, including a "charm", 'gulp", "mischief", "tittering", and "tribe" of magpies.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Yellow-billed Magpie
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Jays and Magpies (Corvidae)_blue
Species Pica nuttalli
Length16.5 Inches
Wingspan22 Inches

Yellow-billed Magpie

Yellow-billed Magpie: Large jay with black hood, back and breast, featherless, pale yellow spot behind eye, and white belly. Bill is yellow. Upperwings are iridescent blue-green with large white shoulder patches. Tail is iridescent green-black, very long, and wedge-shaped. Legs and feet are black.

● Song: "kwah-kwah-kwah"

● Foraging & Feeding: Yellow-billed Magpie: Diet consists of insects, carrion, fruits, berries, and acorns; also known to steal nestlings in order to feed its own young. Usually forages by walking, running, or hopping on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Yellow-billed Magpie: Five to eight olive eggs, marked with brown or olive, are laid in a large, domed stick nest. Nest is often built in a tree overgrown with mistletoe and is difficult to detect. Incubation ranges from 16 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Yellow-billed Magpie: Black-billed Magpie is larger and has black bill and no bare yellow facial patches.

Flight Pattern

Several weak wing beats, then several quicker ones.
Yellow-billed Magpie Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Yellow-billed Magpie: Resident in California's Central Valley and adjacent foothills. Preferred habitats include oak savannas, oak woods, riverside growth, ranches, and suburbs.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationCommon in restricted range, Declining slightly
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight6.1 Ounces