Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 16.9–21.3 in
43–54 cm - Wingspan
- 24 in
61 cm - Weight
- 5.3–6 oz
150–170 g
Other Names
- Pie à bec jaune (French)
- Urraca (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Yellow-billed Magpie is omnivorous, eating a variety of plant and animal foods. Insects, however, make up most of the diet. The Yellow-billed Magpie has been seen pecking insects off the backs of mule deer.
- The covered nest requires maintenance to the canopy throughout the nesting season. The Yellow-billed Magpie usually builds a new nest each year, but if a nest fails early in the breeding season the pair will refurbish an old nest for a renesting attempt rather than build a new one.
Habitat
Open Woodland
Oak savanna, open areas with large trees, and along streams. Also forages in grassland, pasture, fields, and orchards.
Food
Omnivore
Ground-dwelling invertebrates, grain, acorns, carrion, and small mammals.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 4–7 eggs
- Egg Description
- Greenish blue or olive with dark spots and speckles.
- Condition at Hatching
- Naked and helpless.
Nest Description
Nest a domed bowl, made primarily of sticks and mud. Lined with hair, grass, bark, or rootlets. Placed high in large tree, in small colonies.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Ground Forager
Forages primarily on ground. Holds food with feet and pecks it.
Conservation
Least Concern
Populations stable, should be monitered because of the species' limited range.
Credits
- Reynolds, M. D. 1995. Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli). In The Birds of North America, No. 180 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.