Black-billed Magpie (American Magpie)

The Black-billed Magpie is a striking, highly intelligent bird known for its extremely long tail, bold black-and-white plumage, and flashes of iridescent blue and green on the wings. This flight feather exhibits the characteristic high-contrast black and white pattern found on their primary wing feathers.

Striking bicolored pattern with glossy black basal and distal portions and a sharply defined white inner web section, featuring subtle iridescent green and blue sheens in sunlight

Pennaceous, tightly interlocked with strong barbicels, forming a smooth, rigid vane with intact structure

Strong, moderately thick, white to blackish rachis that curves gently; barbs are densely packed and tightly angled

Stiff, smooth, and glossy with a firm, rigid vane structure adapted for aerodynamic flight

Wing primary flight feather, determined by the stiff asymmetrical shape and characteristic black and white blocking

Sharp bicolored black and white pattern on a rigid, curved outer primary feather with glossy dark melanin pigmentation

Open country, shrublands, agricultural fields, edge habitats, and river valleys in western North America

Western and central North America, ranging from Alaska down through the western United States and into portions of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains

Acts as an omnivorous scavenger, predator, and seed disperser, playing a key role in controlling insect populations and cleaning up carrion

Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli), though their ranges rarely overlap significantly and yellow-billed birds feature bright yellow bills and facial skin

Magpies are among the few non-mammal species known to recognize themselves in a mirror test. They also build elaborate, domed stick nests with multiple entrances.

Historically significant in Native American folklore and mythology, where the magpie often appears as a trickster or messenger figure

Look along open grassland edges, near livestock, or under roost trees in the American West where magpies congregate in groups

Good condition with intact barbs and minimal wear, likely from a fresh post-breeding or annual molt