Cray Jay 



Danny On 



BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE (Pica pica) 



In both personality and appearance, the magpie is a distinctive bird. 

 Noisy, intelligent and wary, the magpie is striking in appearance with its 

 contrasting black and white plumage and long, wedge-shaped tail. Con- 

 fined to lower elevation sagebrush-grassland habitats in Yellowstone and 

 Grand Teton, the magpie is a scavenger which profits not only from the 

 presence of the coyote and other predatorsv with which it frequently 

 associates, but also from road kills of squirrels and other rodents by the 

 vehicles of park visitors. The magpie spends much of its time on the ground 

 in search of food. It walks with a jerky gait or hops on both feet. The nest 

 of this species is usually built in a dense, thorny shrub or tree. It is a large, 

 domed mass of sticks with entrances on each side. 



Common Raven 



Dick Follett 



45 



