Black-billed magpie

Pica hudsonia

The Black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Open land and woods in western North America. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, dead animals (carrion) and small mammals and birds. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Pica hudsonia
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Canada

🏡 Where the Black-billed magpie lives

Open land and woods in western North America.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs30%
🦴 Leftovers (carrion)30%
🐭 Mammals & birds20%
🌿 Leaves & plants20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It is smart, can use its voice to call birds, and hides food in the ground.

Hear the Black-billed magpie

Recorded by Scott Gravette (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC512412. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Black-billed magpie

Where does the Black-billed magpie live?

The Black-billed magpie lives in United States and Canada. Open land and woods in western North America.

What does the Black-billed magpie eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%), dead animals (carrion) (about 30%), small mammals and birds (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Black-billed magpie endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.