Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)

Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)

Location:  Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

Many people consider Magpies to be nuisance birds -- and indeed, they can be aggressive and annoying sometimes -- but they also are very beautiful creatures.  I photographed this individual in a parking lot at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Interesting factoid about Magpies:  They are one of only four American songbirds whose tail makes up half or more of the bird's total body length (according to Wikipedia).