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Platte River Status: An uncommon and local permanent resident, most numerous west of Dawson County. Winter vagrancy in this species is well known, and black-billed magpies are more widely distributed across the study area at that time. Tout (1947) considered black-billed magpie "not uncommon" as a summer resident in Lincoln County. Tout seldom found this species along the Platte River Valley; they were more common in the canyonlands of the Dissected Plain south of the river.

Breeding Range: An uncommon but rather evenly distributed nesting species within the Platte River Valley, Sandhills and Dissected Plain physiographic regions; rare and local elsewhere.

Breeding Population: The population in 1979-1980 was estimated at 2,570 breeding pairs. Black-billed magpie made up about 0.8% of the total breeding bird numbers those years.

Habitat: We found the highest mean breeding density in upland prairie (0.2 pairs/km²) where their stick nests are placed in scattered shrubs. Rising (1974) found black-billed magpie in open woodlands in western Kansas. Stewart (1975) considered black-billed magpie a typical forest edge species found in the vicinity of brushy margins of woodland tracts or thickets of small trees and tall shrubs in North Dakota.

Effect of Habitat Alteration: Removal of small thickets of shrubs by mechanical means, and overgrazing of native grasslands by livestock produce a negative impact on this species.

Nesting Data: We have records of eight nests with eggs or dependent young from the study area including one nest at the Mormon Island Crane Meadows, Hall County that contained 5 nearly- fledged young on 13 June 1980; another nest there contained 6 eggs in early May 1981. Our nest dates extend from 7 March to 5 June. Tout (1947) reported a nest in Lincoln County containing three young birds on 9 June. Mean clutch size among four Lincoln County nests was 4.7 eggs during 26 April to 9 June.