![\"Mated](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/black-billed-magpie-7674.jpg\" "\\"Mated")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0 Mated pair of Black-billed Magpies<\/em><\/p>\n Magpies are monogamous and typically mate for life.\u00a0 This is a mated pair on top of their domed nest in a sagebrush.\u00a0 The male is on the left, the female on the right – males are about 20% larger than females so they are sexually dimorphic.\u00a0 As you can see from the muddy bill of the female they’ve been actively building the mud-bowl found inside the nest.\u00a0\u00a0 Typically the male provides the heavier branches and sticks for the nest and the female delivers most of the mud for the mud bowl, which probably explains\u00a0why the female’s bill is so muddy while the male’s is not.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0Obtaining mud for then\u00a0nest\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The mud for the bowl of the nest was obtained wherever the birds could find it.\u00a0 When we’d had dry weather they would have to fly quite\u00a0a distance\u00a0to get any but after a recent rain they would often get it very close by.\u00a0 This bird has just scooped up a bill-full.\u00a0 When it’s available\u00a0they’ll sometimes use fresh cattle or bison dung in place of mud.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Mud delivery to the nest<\/em><\/p>\n This magpie, presumably the female, (I have a difficult time telling sexes apart unless they’re together) is landing on the nest\u00a0in front of her but just out of the photo.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0More mud for the nest<\/em><\/p>\n Here the magpie has landed on the sagebrush where the nest is found with another delivery of mud.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0Taking off for more mud<\/em><\/p>\n These birds made countless trips for mud and twigs over the many days I was able to\u00a0observe them.\u00a0\u00a0 Construction of an entire nest\u00a0can take up to six weeks.\u00a0\u00a0Each nest\u00a0begins with a mud anchor with twig superstructure which takes 2-3 weeks to build.\u00a0 Then the interior\u00a0mud bowl – 9 days and the grass lining – 4 days.\u00a0 Approximately 11 days later\u00a0the female will begin laying her eggs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0Rejecting a twig<\/em><\/p>\n Occasionally\u00a0I would see one of the magpies flying away from the nest with a twig.\u00a0 I presume it was because they found that particular twig unsuitable for construction.\u00a0 This is one of my favorite photographs from the many days I watched these magpies.\u00a0 When the light strikes these birds just right (especially the male) you get an impressive display\u00a0of \u00a0iridescence.\u00a0\u00a0 I was fortunate to get it so well here, especially combined with the upswept tail and the twig in the beak.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0Food for the female and young<\/em><\/p>\n Only the female incubates\u00a0the eggs and while she’s doing so she relies on the male for food.\u00a0 In this photo you can see that it’s much later in the spring by the growth of sage coming through the sides of the nest.\u00a0 By this time the eggs had hatched and both parents were providing food for the nestlings.\u00a0 Here, one of the parents is about to deliver a beak full of insects.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0Sagebrush with magpie nest, Great Salt Lake in background<\/em><\/p>\n This\u00a0is the sagebrush that contains the nest.\u00a0\u00a0The photo was taken in August –\u00a0long after the nest had been abandoned for the year.\u00a0 The top of the nest can barely be seen at top,\u00a0 just right of center but this very large nest was mostly out of sight\u00a0within the bush.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n