Yellow-billed Magpie
Pica nuttalli
Large, striking black-and-white bird; related to crows and jays. Unmistakably long tail and bold pattern, especially visible in flight. Look for bright yellow bill and iridescent blue-green on wings and tail. Limited range in California; does not overlap with Black-billed Magpie. Prefers open areas with scattered trees, especially oaks. Often found in pairs or small family groups foraging on the ground.
Identification
The yellow-billed magpie (Pica nuttallii), also known as the California magpie, is a bird that is endemic to California's Central Valley and the adjacent chaparral foothills and mountains. Apart from its having a yellow bill and a yellow streak around the eye and being slightly smaller, it is virtually identical to the black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) found in much of the rest of western North America. The scientific name commemorates the English naturalist Thomas Nuttall.
Taxonomy
mtDNA sequence analysis indicates a close relationship between the yellow-billed magpie and the black-billed magpie, rather than between the outwardly very similar black-billed and European magpies (P. pica).<p>The Korean subspecies of the European magpie (P. p. sericea) is more distantly related to all other (including North American) forms judging from the molecular evidence, and thus, either the North American forms are maintained as specifically distinct. The Korean (and possibly related) subspecies are also elevated to species status, or all magpies are considered to be subspecies of a single species, Pica pica.<p>Combining fossil evidence and paleobiogeographical considerations with the molecular data indicates that the yellow-billed magpie's ancestors became isolated in California quite soon after the ancestral magpies colonized North America due to early ice ages and the ongoing uplift of the Sierra Nevada, but that during interglacials there occurred some gene flow between the yellow- and black-billed magpies until reproductive isolation was fully achieved in the Pleistocene.<p>The yellow-billed magpie is adapted to the hot summers of California's Central Valley and experiences less heat stress than the black-billed magpie.
- Scientific name
- Pica nuttalli
- Authority
- (Audubon, 1837)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Pica
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Goliath Heron
Ardea goliath
This enormous heron stands 1.5 meters tall and has a robust, dagger-like bill. The immature has rustier upperwings than the adult. Its flight is ponderous and labored. Goliath Heron inhabits large rivers, marshes, estuaries, and mangroves, hunting for large fish and other animals, stabbing them with an open bill. It has a distinct, barking “kowoork” call that can be heard from up to 2 km away. Purple Heron has similar plumage, but Goliath Heron is twice the size, has a much larger bill, and has a rufous (not blackish) top of the head.
Five-colored Munia
Lonchura quinticolor
A striking finch with a heavy silvery bill, a dark coppery hood, a brilliant white underside, and chestnut upperparts. Juveniles duller, with paler head and browner upperparts. Found in groups, sometimes with other finches, on or near the ground in open country, including croplands, grasslands, scrub, forest clearings, and very lightly wooded areas, in lowlands and foothills. Confined to the Lesser Sundas. On juvenile, note heavier bill and darker head than Pale-headed Munia. Gives weak, high-pitched “wi-wi-wi” calls and louder “tririp” notes.
Friedmann's Lark
Mirafra pulpa
A small, compact lark with dark brown upperparts that appear scaly in fresh plumage, a streaked crown that can be raised as a crest, an indistinct tawny eyebrow, a striking pale throat, and a pale belly with dark breast streaks. The bill is bicolored: pale below with a dark ridge on the upper mandible. The tail is mostly dark with white outer feathers that are conspicuous in flight. Movements of this very localized lark are poorly known, but small groups are probably partial migrants and nomads in dense grassland with scattered bush; likely often goes undetected when not singing. Best identification feature is the diagnostic song, a single-note strident loud up-and-down “wheeeeoooo” whistle, repeated incessantly every two seconds for minutes at a time.
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