Magpies Out West

Last week I watched a striking - and strikingly familiar - bird lift up from the tall grasses and over the cliffside at Badlands National Park. They floated above a black-tailed prairie dog mound for only an instant and then dropped out of sight before I could pull up my camera, but I had already recognized them from the specimen collection back home - dark black beak, iridescent wings, bright white underside, and a very long tail. 

I had only familiarized myself with black-billed magpies over the summer, and was excited to observe one while on my belated honeymoon "Out West." The bird is beautiful, and they're one of only four bird species in North American whose tails make up at least half their total body length. 

A few days after heading past the Badlands, while I was still disappointed about missing the shot on camera, my husband pointed out another magpie. This time, my camera was already around my neck and the bird appeared comfortable enough to hang around the mowed grass at the Montana rest area. I was able to capture a tangible image to supplement my experience. 

You too can observe a black-billed magpie while visiting the real specimen currently on display at the Sherman and Ruth Weiss Community Library in Hayward, WI.