The black-billed magpie ("Pica hudsonia") is a magpie, a type of songbird. It is a medium-sized member of the crow family with glossy black and white plumage and a black beak. The black-billed magpie lives in North America west of the Appalaches and north of the big Deserts. It can be found in temperate, open landscape. It is an omnivorous species: Insects, carrion and seeds are its main food, but it also takes small vertebrates and eggs. The breeding season of the black-billed magpie starts in May and it takes until the end of June for all chicks to fledge. The birds breed in solitary pairs that stay together for life.