Birdr
  • Today
  • Life List
  • Community
Sign in
  • Today
  • Life List
  • Map
  • Trip Planner
  • Community
  • Field Guide
  • Skills
  • Gear Guides
  • Merch
Sign in
Made for birdrs, by birdrs  ·  Birdr ·  v0.1
Field GuideBlogAboutGear GuidesTrip PlannerCommunityBirdr ProPrivacy PolicyTermsSupport
Back to Field Guide
Yellow-billed Magpie

Yellow-billed Magpie

Pica nuttalli

Audubon Illustration

Audubon illustration of Yellow-billed Magpie

John James Audubon, Birds of America (1827-1838). Public domain.

Range & Recent Observations

Yellow-billed Magpieis a year-round resident and doesn't follow a migration flyway. See the Range tab for where it lives.

Last Spotted Near You

View on eBirdWikipedia

About the Yellow-billed Magpie

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.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name
Pica nuttalli
Family
Crows, Jays, and Magpies
Order
Passeriformes

Similar species

Other members of the crows, jays, and magpies family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

  • American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
  • Azure-hooded Jay Cyanolyca cucullata
  • Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus
  • Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia
  • Black-throated Jay Cyanolyca pumilo
  • Black-throated Magpie-Jay Cyanocorax colliei
  • Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
  • Brown Jay Cyanocorax morio
  • California Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma californica
  • Canada Jay Perisoreus canadensis
  • Chihuahuan Raven Corvus cryptoleucus
  • Clark's Nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana

Know when the Yellow-billed Magpie turns up near you

Add it to your watchlist and draw an alert zone around the places you actually bird. Birdr checks eBird reports and tells you when one is seen inside it.

How rare bird alerts work →

Gear for spotting Yellow-billed Magpie

Optics

Best Binoculars for Beginners

You don't need to spend a fortune. These four pairs will get you birding confidently on day one.

8 min readRead guide
Cameras

Cameras for Bird Photography

From phone adapters to dedicated rigs, here's what actually works for capturing birds in the field.

12 min readRead guide
Optics

Spotting Scopes for Distance Birding

Essential for shorebirds, raptors, and anything too far for binoculars. Our tested picks.

9 min readRead guide