Alberta's Magpies: Clever, Adaptive and Full of Surprises

Black-billed magpies are a staple of Alberta's urban and rural landscapes, blending sharp intelligence with ecological importance.

Adding to my long list of interests, birds are one of them. Growing up I was obsessed with books that showcased the local birds in my area and I would try to keep track of the birds I saw in real life to the ones I saw in the book. A bird that fascinated me back then and continues to fascinate me are Black-billed magpies. They are very social and smart birds that live in our urban areas of Alberta. Everywhere I walk I typically spot a few of them, playing around, having conversations with each other, and I often wonder to myself what they are communicating about.

Image from Pixabay

Social Dynamics and Communications

The most common vocalizations are alarm calls, typically a “ka-ka-ka-ka” or “skah-skah” sound. This call alerts other magpies of potential threats or dangers to their territories. They also make a variety of social interactions such as tweets, coos, purrs, shrills, and squawks (which is what I hear typically) which help maintain their social bonds. Magpies form loose flocks outside of breeding season as they are highly social birds. They also have unique '“funeral” behavior, when encountering other passed-away magpies they will call groups of other magpies and vocalize loudly together for 15 - 20 minutes. They do this to alert others of potential dangers as well as strengthen their social cohesion, showing how strong the social relationship between these birds is. They also make excellent mimics, mimicking other birds, mammals, and even human voices! Now you can understand my fascination, they have a wide range of calls and social interaction compared to other urban birds.

Avian Intelligence and Impact

Magpies are just so good for the ecosystem and are intelligent birds, I would befriend one if I could! They engage in mutualistic grooming with deer, moose, and cattle, removing winter ticks and other parasites. Providing magpies with protein-rich food and reducing tick loads on their mammal friends. One of the most intelligent skills of the magpie is its ability to recognize itself in mirrors. This skill is only shared with apes, orcas, dolphins, and elephants, which makes me wonder if they are as curious about me as I am about them. Some captive magpies have shown capabilities of even using sticks and wires as tools to demonstrate problem-solving. These birds are quite resourceful and watching how they behave in their environment, whether in a forest or the urban city, is always fascinating and now I understand why.

Some Extra Magpie Facts

• Edmonton is known as the “magpie capital of the world” bolstering the largest urban population of magpies in North America. There are an estimated of over 1,200 breeding pairs of magpies in Edmonton.

• Magpies in Alberta can use scent to locate food, which is uncommon among birds.

• Magpies in Alberta build dome-shaped nests with two entrances. These nests can take up to 40 days to make and last for years! (I grew up on a farm and saw these nests very often)

• These birds mate for life and live in loose flocks outside of the breeding season.

• Rare lecistic or “ghost” magpies which are white or grey have been spotted in Alberta before. This is a rare sight and hopefully one day I will spot one.

A look at a magpie nest

Wrapping Up and Taking Flight

Today my fascination with magpies helps put into perspective how smart and integrated some of our urban animals truly are. Once it warms up here in Canada I look forward to taking more hikes and who knows, maybe I’ll write more newsletters about birds I find interesting on my hikes! I have lots of content ideas for Substack and I hope we are able to build up a welcoming community that loves nature and the wonders of the world. Comment below if you have any experience with Magpies or have a favorite bird local to your area!