This unmistakable and beautiful corvid can be found year-round anywhere in the province except in the northeastern Canadian Shield. They are most common in grass and parkland.
Magpies thrive in wide-open spaces, leaving the deep forests to their crow and raven cousins. Magpies flourished with, and then declined with the great bison herds of earlier days. But these adaptable birds have returned in numbers with cattle and people.
Like all corvids the Black-billed Magpie is an opportunistic omnivore hunting or foraging for seeds, fruit, insects, carrion, eggs and occasionally the nestlings of other birds. They enjoy suet, peanuts and other treats at feeders, and are quick to exploit any pet food left outdoors.
The nest is a fortress-like domed structure of sticks with one or two entrances, usually in a small tree or within shrubbery. The nest cup is fortified with mud and soft materials. As few as two, or as many as nine eggs are incubated for 14 to 23 days. Young are fledged in three or four weeks.
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Where to find Black-billed Magpies in Alberta
Black-billed Magpies occur throughout the Weaselhead/Glenmore area in all months of the year. Brent Johner
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