With their large size, bold pied plumage, and fondness for open areas, black-billed magpies are easily seen. They hop and walk on the ground with a swaggering and confident gait. Monotypic. Length 19".

An unusually long-tailed black-and-white corvid with a black bill. In good light, black on wings and tail shine with iridescent green, blue, and violet. Juvenile has milky grayish-colored iris and fleshy pinkish gape. The upperparts are washed dull brownish, and the belly is more cream-­colored. Immatures have narrower and more pointed outer tail feathers. Flight: relatively slow, with steady, rowing wingbeats, but the birds are easily able to quickly change direction in flight. Magpies usually swoop up or down to perch.

While monotypic, birds in the south average smaller