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Yellow-billed Magpie

Pica nuttalliOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Crows and Jays (Corvidae)
Codes: Common Name: YBMA Scientific Name: PIANUT ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179723
Least Concern
 
Yellow-billed magpie
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Overview

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.

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.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body


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.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Santiago Cornejo

Splitbar
Range Map for Yellow-billed Magpie

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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
Perching-like BodyX
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
ShoulderX
The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX