Yellow-billed Magpie
Yellow-billed Magpie has declined: down 29% on the route-weighted index since 1970.
About the Yellow-billed Magpie
The Yellow-billed Magpie (Pica nuttalli) is a North American member of the Crows, Jays & Magpies (Corvidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the generalists.
- Size
- 10–27.5 in long (25–70 cm) — a medium to large songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- A broad range of open and wooded habitats, often near people.
- Diet
- An opportunistic mix of insects, seeds, fruit and scraps.
- Range
- Recorded on 49 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 1 state, most concentrated in the Coastal California.
- Family
- Corvidae · Generalists
Notable Yellow-billed Magpie Trends
No notable trend signals for Yellow-billed Magpie. See the full index history below.
Yellow-billed Magpie Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Yellow-billed Magpie is projected to fall about 89% by 2029 — from 0.06 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.01 (95% range 0.00–0.20). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±25.2%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.23 |
| 2026 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.22 |
| 2027 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.22 |
| 2028 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.21 |
| 2029 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.20 |
Where the Yellow-billed Magpie Is Detected
BBS routes recording Yellow-billed Magpie, sized by most recent count.
Yellow-billed Magpie Population Trend by State
| California | -40% | 1970 | 49 |
Yellow-billed Magpie Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Coastal California | -34% | 1970 | 47 |
Yellow-billed Magpie Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it down about 29% since 1970.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.