Black-billed Magpies feed primarily on carrion, ground-dwelling arthropods and seeds. But yesterday morning I photographed a magpie with an apparent kill, a vole. I’m not particularly proud of the images (several of them could be sharper) but was happy to document the behavior.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark 2, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I noticed that this bird had something in its beak as I approached it along the road adjacent to Glover Pond in Farmington. It wasn’t until I got my lens on the bird (through a bunch of foreground vegetation) that it became obvious that it was a vole. After a couple of shots…
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark 2, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
the magpie flew off to another perch and set the vole on top for a few moments. I like the vole’s little paw sticking up in an apparent surrender that’s obviously too late.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark 2, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
It then reached down to grab the vole…
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark 2, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, canvas added for composition, not baited, set up or called in
and flew off with it once again.
Magpies are occasionally known to kill prey (especially small birds in the nest) though in my experience it’s a relatively rare occurrence. It’s more common for them to steal food from predators (kleptoparasitism) which makes me wonder if this bird might have pilfered the vole from a kestrel. It’s even possible that the vole had been cached by another predator and the magpie encountered it serendipitously (the vole appeared stiff and could even have been frozen). It’s interesting to speculate but I’ll never know for sure.
If any of my readers have had experience with magpies as predators I’d be very interested in hearing about it.
Ron
Ron. I associate that prey with kestrels not magpies. Bet he stole it. Can’t see them hovering and capturing prey like I have seen kestrels do. Thanks for your thoughts. And of course the photos.
The Robins really get vocal and gang up whenever the Magpies are on the prowl. If it weren’t for the racket I would never have observed the behavior.
Hi Ron,
We see predatory behavior every spring here in Hoytsville. Our home is in a Magpie nesting area and we see them actively hunting other birds nest frequently when they have their own chicks to feed. Stealing eggs and hatchlings. Robins are in good quantity and seem to be frequent targets. Once the chicks fledge the behavior seems to stop.
Great work as usual!
Thanks, Neil. That’s the kind of feedback that I was especially interested in. Funny, I’ve observed nesting magpies up close for probably hundreds of hours and have never seen the behavior you describe, even though there’s many nesting birds of other species nearby and I’ve seen that same behavior described in my research. Perhaps it depends on local conditions and on what other food is available. An angry robin parent would likely be a deterrent if other food was easier…
Another incredibly well photographed series, Ron! I have no experiences with Black-billed Magpies—I just photographed my first Yellow-billed Magpie a couple of weeks ago here in Northern California. Whenever I’m on a Napa-Solano Audubon bird walk and meet with fellow birder Sue Johnson, we always talk about how much we love your photos and stories…we look forward to your posts every day!!
I’d love to see a Yellow-billed one day, Pamela.
Awww, the last part of your comment gave me the warm fuzzies…
A vole-sicle to start the day!
Vole-sicles are common fare around here this time of year, Mikal.
Hi!
That bird sure has a mouth full and can not call his friends to share it for dinner? As if it really would want guest? Ha ha Great photo’s Have a great day!
That bird was in no mood to share, Hummingbird Lover – that’s for sure.
Fascinating. I don’t think our magpies do kill prey – but will have to check.
And, once you have pointed it out, my mind keeps returning to that futile surrender signal.
That was kind of a pitiful “gesture”, wasn’t it, Elephant’s Child?
In the first photo, it looks as if the vole is ON, rather than in, the magpie’s beak… as if it was impaled. Could you tell for sure? That would seem to argue for a kill, rather than theft.
Interesting observation, Tim. I just now looked at my other photos and I still can’t tell for sure but I lean toward it looking like the vole was grasped and “pinched” at the midsection. But looking more carefully at the other images pretty much convinces me that the vole was not frozen.
Amazing behavioral shots Ron! Very interesting info!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Interesting set of photos. From everything you described, it sounds to me like vole had been cached rather than stolen, because it would not have been stiff had it been just stolen. IMO.
Could be, Susan, but on the other hand it was a cold morning and a recently killed vole would have stiffened up very quickly.