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Black-billed Magpie (Pica pica hudsonia) Yupik name: Qalqerayak |
The black-billed magpie is one of the easier birds to identify because of their striking coloring and exceptionally long tails. In flight, they are especially beautiful and graceful. They can glide for what seems miles. And,
if their bright colors don't attract your attention, their scolding call
will. Magpies travel in colonies, so it's not unusual to find many of
them together. Well-known as "camp-robbers", the magpies belong to the same family as crows, ravens and jays. They adapt well to people and take advantage of anything left unattended in a camp. They've even been known to go inside of tents!! Pairs form during the fall and winter, and some will mate for life. The pair will engage in a lengthy courtship centered around the male providing food for the female. Both the male and the female will help build the nest, which takes approximately six weeks. The nests of black-billed magpies are sturdy domed structures that are often used in later years by mammals or other birds. The nest consists of a mud anchor in which twigs and sticks are inserted to create a dome-like structure. Then, a mud bowl is constructed atop the mud anchor and lined with grass. The number of eggs incubated varies greatly (between one and nine). The female sits on the eggs for the approximately eighteen day incubation period. The male provides food for the female while she is sitting on the nest. Young are born without down, and their eyes will remain closed for the first week. Both parents feed the young until the young leave the nest at about three to four weeks of age. The young are still dependent on their parents for food for up to two months after leaving the nest. Resident
from S. central Alaska and W. Canada to Ne. and extreme E. central California,
east to central Great Plains. Casual north and east of range in fall and
winter. |
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