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 ...

Often when I meet people who are visiting Colorado or relocating from the eastern U.S., they ask “What is that beautiful black and white bird with the long tail?” My typical shrugging reply is, “Oh ...

The first time I heard and saw a black-billed magpie, I was sure someone’s exotic and very expensive pet had escaped its aviary. I lived in the top story of a Victorian house on the wrong side of the ...

The black-billed magpie is an iconic bird of the American West that has been moving steadily eastward. Magpies are now common in the Pembina Hills in northeastern North Dakota and in the transition ...

The magpies are out and about right now. It’s because the birds, like many other animals that call Colorado home year-round, are preparing for the looming winter. The black-billed magpies in Colorado ...

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 ...

Get any of our free daily email newsletters — news headlines, opinion, e-edition, obituaries and more. On May 14, we celebrate World Migratory Bird Day. Who isn’t excited to welcome back our nesting ...

One of my favorite wildlife experiences is watching a coyote trot through the sagebrush with a black-billed magpie in tow. I’ve only seen this a few times since we moved out West in 1974, so it’s ...

Why do birds sit on the heads of deer? They’re looking for a good meal, experts say Photo by John Carr/USFWS One of nature’s oddities is the sight of dinky birds sitting defiantly on the heads and ...

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 ...

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 ...