Black-billed Magpie

Magpies are a common sight throughout SouthCentral Alaska. You'll know them by their black head and 'shoulders', long & dark tail, blue-tinged wings, and bright white on the belly. They maintain a symbiotic relationship with a number of larger mammals, removing ticks from them and storing the juicy morsels away in notches in trees for consumption during the winter. Most of the ticks remain so this is a great means of food procurement and storage.