The Black-Billed Magpie in Ontario
6 The Black-billed Magpie in Ontario David H. Elder The Black-billed Magpie (Pica hud American Bison (Bison bison) that sonia) is a spectacular, long-tailed, through death by predation, dis black and white corvid (Figure 1) ease, accident and old age provided that is found in western North a constant food source. America from Alaska south to New In Ontario, it is a fairly recent Mexico and Arizona (Sibley 2000). colonizer in the northwestern part Its Canadian range extends from of the province and breeds mainly extreme western Ontario through in two separate areas, one west of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Fort Frances and one west of British Columbia and the Yukon Dryden (Figure 2). Both are exten (Godfrey 1986). The original range sive agricultural areas that have of the species likely coincided with been developed since the late 1800s the great central North American and early 1900s; farmland carved prairies populated by huge herds of out of the forested wilderness. Figure 1: The Black-billed Magpie is a recent colonist to Ontario. Photo by George K. Peck. ONTARIO BIRDS APRIL 2006 7 r:: r:: co 0 ~ Figure 2: Northwestern Ontario, showing the two main breeding areas of the Black billed Magpie in the province, near Dryden and Fort FranceslRainy River (hatched areas). Map by Andrew Jano. Nesting (Salix spp.) growing under The first documented Black-billed Trembling Aspen (Populus tremu Magpie nests (four) in Ontario loides). Occasionally, they are were found by John Lamey, A. placed in a tall tree, well above Gray, B. Duncan and W. Wilson in a ground, a location that is favoured small patch of aspen woodland in the more western part of the about 10 km northeast of Rainy species' range (Figure 4).
[Show full text]