Oh irony -- today, while waiting to cross University Blvd., I added a 54th species to my DU list: a Black-billed Magpie, who floated over (as magpies seem to do) the apartment buildings near campus.
Thanks to everyone who sent me a message about magpies! - Jared Del Rosso Centennial, CO On Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 9:22:00 PM UTC-7 Jared Del Rosso wrote: > I live a few houses off of S. University Blvd in Centennial. I work a few > streets off of S. University Blvd. at DU. > > In my six years of making this commute, which is not much longer by car or > bus than by the flight of a crow, I've grown accustomed to seeing a single > magpie fly over University, just south of S. Hampden Blvd. (I saw one this > morning, which precipitated this post.) > > Then the species disappears, until (roughly) City Park in Denver. Crows > can be found at the King Soopers on University, just north of Hampden -- as > well as at the hot spots between Hampden and City Park. So, too, can Blue > Jays. > > But there's a relative dearth of magpies for about 6 miles along > University. > > Of course, they're not entirely absent -- only relatively so. But they're > by no means common along this stretch. > > At both Wash Park and the Botanic Gardens, they're often not reported, and > they appear on fewer than 10% of checklists at both spots. I remember > seeing them at Denver Botanic Gardens once in my time birding there. (eBird > tells me I've submitted 198 complete checklists to the gardens.) I also > distinctly remember another member of their family -- I can't remember if > it was a Blue Jay or a Crow, though I think the latter -- escorting them > out of the area. > > By contrast, at deKoevend Park, which University borders in Centennial, > you'll (almost) always see magpies. It's the same at City Park. At both > places, Magpies are reported on roughly 40-100% of checklists at both > spots, on a week by week basis. (deKoevend has some weeks of very few > checklists, so there are weeks where there are no magpies reported.) > > It's always struck me as a bit curious, though I'm sure the magpies have > their reasons. Maybe it has to do with the density of human buildings and > the extensiveness of "undeveloped" spaces." But it still seems odd to me > that both larger and smaller corvids, crows and jays, are at home in areas > that mapgies avoid. > > None of the three species seem to have changed their breeding range all > that much between the two Breeding Bird Atlases, though mapgies had the > largest decline in confirmed breeding of the three species. (Most of that > decline seems to have happened along the eastern edge of the state.) > > *What's in a name?* > > The scientific name of the Black-billed Magpie is *Pica hudsonia*. I grew > up in New York State, near the Hudson River; the *hudsonia* confused me, > since the birds are most definitely scarcer in New York State than they are > at Denver Botanic Gardens. (That is, they're not in NY.) But here it refers > to Hudson Bay in Saskatchewan, where it seems like Sabine encountered and > described them (but I haven't had a chance to dive into that effort). > > The genus name for magpies, Pica, connects the human with the bird. It > refers to an urge to eat or a behavior of eating non-nutritional foodstuff. > Apparently, the use of the word to describe human behavior comes from the > tendency of magpies to eat (or at least inspect) a great diversity of > potential food items. > > Until somewhat recently (perhaps until 2000, according to this AOS > supplement > <https://americanornithology.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/NACC_Supplements_2000_2022.pdf>), > > "our" magpie was a subspecies of *Pica pica*, the common magpie of Europe > and much of Asia. I didn't start birding until a decade or so after that, > so perhaps someone with a longer memory than me can vouch for this. > > A few years ago, I watched a young magpie stare at one of my chickens. The > chicken stared back. They both seemed to recognize something in the other. > In typical magpie fashion, the young magpie then tried to tear a tag off a > small solar light near the chicken coop. That's really the only time I've > seen a magpie behave in the way we're told magpies behave -- with an > interest in collecting human objects. > > - Jared Del Rosso > Centennial, CO > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/0c32dc9a-7fbe-4f69-8f66-3e6707a12639n%40googlegroups.com.
