Black-Billed Magpie
Pica hudsonia
This Black-Billed Magpie was seen at Mormon's Row in the Grand Tetons, Wyoming on June 4, 2013. It is holding its rodent prey in its claws. It also will eat insects, berries, seeds, carrion and other foods, which helps it to be adaptable to a number of different prairie and parkland environments. It is a large bird, measuring about 19 inches long. It sometimes appears to be black-and-white, but it also has some blue and green iridescent feathers that are striking in the right light. Its size and color along with the fact that it often sits out in the open can make it relatively easy to spot. It lives year-round in many of the interior western U.S. states and up on the western coast of Canada and in Alaska.