Magpies rule the Prairies. Here's why they won't go national
CBC
It's hard to go a day in Calgary without seeing magpies or hearing their iconic screech.
The magpie is the city's most commonly observed wild animal, according to iNaturalist, a citizen science website where people can track sightings and observations of wildlife worldwide. The platform puts sightings of magpies well ahead of mallards and Canada geese, the city's second- and third-most commonly spotted animals.
Many Albertans have a love-hate relationship with magpies: on the one hand, they were recently voted Edmonton's official bird, and were the runner-up behind the black-capped chickadee in Calgary's mascot bird contest. On the other hand, many consider them pests.
There are 18 species of magpie worldwide.
Calgary is home to the black-billed magpie, and their ties to Calgary run deep. In fact, they predate the city.
"Magpies co-evolved with bison," said Calgary naturalist Brian Keating. "And the bison herds were, as you know, immense, and so the magpie population was significant."
With those vast bison herds now gone, magpies have adapted to picking insects off the backs of cattle on farms throughout the Prairies, as well as eating whatever they can get their claws on.
Being year-round residents of the Prairies means they're hardy creatures, able to thrive in the scorching heat of summer and the freezing temperatures of winter.
Keating pointed to research that has been done on magpie diets, which found the birds primarily live off of roadkill and carrion in the winter, and insects in the summer.
"In other words, they've adapted to the harsh reality of limited food in the winter, but exploit opportunities to the abundant food source of beetles and other insect life in the summer," he said.
In the spring, they also rob other birds' nests.
"And I think that's one of the reasons why human beings find them so frustrating," said Keating.
Being so adaptable and intelligent is something magpies have in common with ravens and crows, which they're closely related to as part of the corvid family.
"They are a feathered primate, essentially, in their ability to think," Keating said.
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