JAYS AND MAGPIES: Family Corvidae [ 42,5 ] 



region black. Young: head without bronzy gloss. Length: 17.40-11.75, wing 7.30- 

 8.40, tail 9.30-11.95, exposed culmen 1.15-1. 41, tarsus 1.70-1.91." (Bailey) (See 

 Plate 75, /4.) Nest: A mud cup, lined with rootlets and fine grasses, located in the 

 center of a bulky mass of sticks, and reached through an entrance in the side; in 

 bushes and small trees. Eggs: 5 to 9, grayish, uniformly heavily marked with 

 brown. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from Alaska Peninsula, Yukon, Alberta, Sas- 

 katchewan, and Manitoba south to Arizona and New Mexico. Winters over 

 most of its range. In Oregon: Common permanent resident found in every county 

 east of Cascades. Straggles irregularly west of Cascades. 



THE AMERICAN MAGPIE is without doubt the most conspicuous bird 

 throughout the sagebrush and grain country of eastern Oregon. Its noisy 

 cries and conspicuous black and white color pattern bring it into the 

 limelight as it flies in straggling formation over the tops of the willows, 

 with its long tail feathers streaming out behind. By choice, the magpies 

 frequent the thick willow and cottonwood patches of the stream bottoms 

 from which they forage out into the open country in search of anything 

 edible. An old carcass, a bird's nest, a concentration of meadow mice, 

 or a horde of insects is each equally acceptable to this jovial freebooter. 

 Every man's hand is against him, but, wise in the ways of the world and 

 as able to fend for himself as the crow, the magpie continues to thrive. 



Newberry (1857) first made mention of the magpie in the State, and 

 since that time many others have written about its abundance and dis- 

 tribution. No one can visit the eastern section of the State without 

 seeing it, and there are many records of its appearance in western Oregon. 

 Johnson (1880) listed it from Forest Grove; Anthony (Bailey 1902.) stated 

 that a few were to be found along the Columbia; Woodcock (1901) 

 recorded it for Dayton, Scio, The Dalles, and Beaverton; and we have 

 numerous records of its appearance along the Columbia near Portland. 

 Walker's (192.4) record of a small flock seen at Blaine, Tillamook County, 

 on October 8, 1919, is the only one from a coastal county. 



With the first break in winter, the magpies commence collecting sticks 

 to build their bulky nests, and by early March these structures are well 

 under way. The nesting season is long drawn out, though the later nests 

 may be those of pairs that for some reason failed to successfully raise 

 their first brood. Our earliest date of a nest with a full set of eggs is 

 March 2.1. Most of the eggs are laid in April and early May, although 

 we have records of eggs as late as June zi. By early May the short-tailed 

 youngsters can be found in the willow bottoms, and June i finds them 

 everywhere, the youngest clambering about in the branches while their 

 elder brethren are trying their wings overhead. From this time on 

 through the summer small bands of magpies wander over the country, 

 forming the most conspicuous living element in the landscape. 



Farmers dislike these birds because of their propensity for stealing eggs 

 and killing young chicks; livestock men despise them because of their 



