Black-billed Magpie
Learn to identify the Black-billed Magpie by ear. Master the "mag-mag-mag, chrrr-chee-chee!" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Black-billed Magpie sounds like
Drawn-out nasal waaa notes alternate with shorter, complaining queg calls. The result sounds cranky and conversational.
How to tell it apart
Where you'll hear it
Found across western and central North America, from Alaska and western Canada south through much of the interior West and Great Plains. Most birds stay in the same region year-round, though some make short local movements in winter.
Look for it in open country with scattered trees—ranches, prairie edges, farmsteads, suburbs, and cottonwood-lined creeks. It likes room to forage on the ground and sturdy trees or shrubs for nesting.
You can spot Black-billed Magpies in every season. Spring is loud and busy with nest-building, summer brings family groups, and winter often gathers birds around towns, roadsides, and livestock areas.
How to recognize it by sight
Flashy, bold, and impossible to ignore, the Black-billed Magpie is a long-tailed black-and-white corvid with a blue-green shimmer. It struts across fields and fence lines, then lifts into a bouncy flight with the tail streaming behind like a ribbon.
Similar species
Yellow-billed Magpie
Has a yellow bill and yellow skin around the eye, not all black in the face.
American Crow
Entirely black, with no white patches anywhere on the body.
Common Raven
Much larger, with a heavier bill and a shaggy throat.