Pica hudsonia
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia), also known as the American magpie, is a bird in the corvid family found in the western half of North America. It is black and white, with the wings and tail showing black areas and iridescent hints of blue and blue-green. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of Pica pica (Eurasian magpie), but was separated as a species in its own in 2000 based on genetic studies.
This species prefers generally open habitats with clumps of trees, but can also commonly be found in farmlands and suburban areas. Historically associated with bison herds, it now lands on the backs of cattle to glean ticks and insects from them. Black-billed magpies commonly follow large predators, such as wolves, to scavenge from their kills. The species also walks or hops on the ground, where it obtains food items such as beetles, grasshoppers, worms, and small rodents.
The black-billed magpie builds domed nests which are made up of twigs and are located near the top of trees, usually housing six to seven eggs. Incubation, by the female only, starts when the clutch is complete, and lasts 16–21 days. The nestling period is three to four weeks. Black-billed magpies in the wild have a lifespan of six to seven years.
Black-billed magpies have a long history with humans, being featured in stories told by Indigenous tribes of the Great Plains. Where persecuted it becomes very wary, but otherwise it is fairly tolerant of human presence. Due to their perceived negative impact on cattle and game birds, black-billed magpies were hunted as a pest during the 1900s, and their population suffered as a result. Today, they are considered a species of least concern by the IUCN, and they are commonly seen throughout their range. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katmai National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 11 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Kenai Fjords National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Birmingham Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Carolina Raptor Center | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Cascades Raptor Center | 🇺🇸 United States |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Magpie sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 8,398 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to April
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Magpie in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, against about 50% in July and August, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-billed Magpie sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Black-billed Magpie sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at about 70%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Katmai National Park (United States, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Corvidae
The closest relatives of the Black-billed Magpie that you can see in Rocky Mountain National Park (family Corvidae, Crows, Jays, and Magpies) are American Crow (about 60%), Steller's Jay (about 60%) and Common Raven (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-billed Magpie is recorded against all the birds logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (8,398 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
