Habits of North American Magpies

Magpies are part of the corvidae family of birds and are best described as long-tailed crows with brightly marked feathers and raucous voices. According to the online book "Birds of the World," birds that are part of the corvidae family are considered the most intelligent. There are two types of magpie in North America: the black-billed and yellow-billed.

  1. Habitat

    • Magpies prefer to live in areas that have open country and access to water but also woodland and small shrubs for shelter. Open country with limited foliage makes it easier for magpies to search out and forage for food sources. North American magpies sometimes migrate small distances during postbreeding movements, but they tend to not stray too far from their original nesting areas.

    Social Behavior

    • North American magpies are extremely intelligent birds that live communally in loose colonies. Some North American magpies roost in colonies of more than 700 birds. Within these colonies, magpies steal food from one another and share offspring rearing duties. They've even displayed funeral behavior, described as a ritual performed by other members of the colony when a member dies.

    Reproduction

    • North American magpies have a few distinct mating characteristics, such as monogamous long-term pair bonding and shared infant raising responsibilities. Pairs are formed in the fall or early-winter months within wintering flocks, and last the duration of the mating season as well as during the raising of offspring. Both sexes help build a large nest made of sticks, mud, manure, hair and grass and lined with weeds. When the female starts incubating, the male is in charge of gathering food for her until the chicks are born. Typically, the offspring remain in the nest for 3 to 4 weeks. After this period, they leave the nest to socialize and interact with other broods within the colony.

    Diet

    • North American magpies are omnivores and are one of the few types of birds that can use their sense of smell to find food sources. They prefer to eat a variety of small insects, which they sometimes forage off the backs of larger grazing animals. During the colder months, when insects are hard to find, North American magpies will subsist off seeds, berries and small nuts. Magpies will sometimes also consume decaying animal carcasses that are in the open.