The Black-billed Magpie is unmistakeable, with its striking black and white body pattern and streaming ornamental tail. Often when I meet people who are visiting Colorado or relocating from the ...

A brutal case of infanticide has been recently reported in the black-billed magpie. In a series of vivid videos, an adult perpetrator kills or drags out all six nestlings from a nest. Who could have ...

Finding their young dead in the nest is not uncommon for bird mothers. In many bird species some of the nestlings die before they leave the nest. This is known as "brood reduction", a common form of ...

Black-billed magpies are year-round residents in our part of the Red River Valley, so I'm not surprised to see one on a drive through the countryside. I am pleased, though, because it shows me the ...

Although you may not realize it, most people are familiar with the corvid family of passerines, or perching birds. In our northern Minnesota region American crows, northern ravens and blue jays are ...

No, this is not turning into the Magpie Column. But I just got wind of disturbing news about these birds that needs to reach a wider audience. The July issue of The Auk, published by the American ...

They are strikingly handsome, intelligent and bold. They build nests with domed roofs and side entrances and decorate these homes with the bright shiny objects they collect. They hold funeral services ...