Black-billed Magpie

I’ve been trying to photograph this bird for a while, but hadn’t any luck until my most recent visit to Alberta. This is a Black-billed Magpie ― almost never seen in Vancouver, but common to Alberta.

I’m in a definite minority in thinking that magpies are beautiful because any Albertan will pull up their nose and say (as some have done to me), “Why are you taking a picture of a magpie? Don’t you know they’re scavengers?”

Apparently magpies are from the same family as crows. I have strong feelings about crows because they typically like to dive-bomb me as I walk through my neighbourhood. So maybe I should have more empathy for my Alberta relatives and their strong feelings about magpies ― apparently magpies are also known to be dive-bombers.