Black-billed Magpie

Status One record. A bird on Brier Island on 18 May 1973 was discovered by Wickerson Lent and photographed by Wayne Neily. The Shelburne Coastguard of 7 December 1961 said another had visited the property of Anita Hopkins in Shelburne that autumn, but details of date and exact circumstances are lacking.

Remarks This large (50 cm), flashy black-and-white bird is a resident of central and western North America. Birds seen in the east are often assumed to have escaped from captivity, and although the Brier Island bird was clearly "wild" when it was seen, it could have come from such an event.