YK Territorial Bird Common Raven
Birds of The Yukon Specialties
- Common raven
- Wandering tattler
- White-tailed ptarmigan
- Blue throat (Eurasian species)
268 species in 37 families
The Yukon is the western most of Canada’s three northern territories, and is located in the northwest corner of the mainland. The territory is the approximate shape of a triangle, bordering the US state of Alaska to the west, the Northwest Territories to the east and British Columbia to the south. Its northern coast is on the Beaufort Sea.
The Yukon can be divided into two broad geographical regions – the boreal forest belt inn the south and the Arctic tundra in the north. The province also contains a pocket desert. The Carcross Desert is 250 hectares of sand dunes edged by the boreal forest. Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak, at 6,050 metres, is located in southwestern Yukon.
The very sparsely populated territory abounds with snow-melt lakes and white-capped mountains.
Most of the territory is in the watershed of the Yukon River. The southern Yukon is dotted with a large number of large, long and narrow glacier-fed alpine lakes, most of which flow into the Yukon River system.
Yukon Web Links
Where Do You Want To Go Birding in the Yukon?
You are talking about a Black-billed magpie. These clever corvids are in the same family as the Raven and Whiskey Jack (Grey Jay). They are very abundant throughout the wooded areas of the western provinces and states, but are not found along the coast or in the southwest. They have been featured on my blog many times, as I have a lot of them in the yard, and they’re here year round. You can read more about them at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-billed_magpie/id Glad you liked them!
I was recently in Yukon Territory, south of Whitehorse, out at Annie Lake. I was there in May of this year. I noticed one particular bird that seemed to be common to the area, but we have no such bird down in Southern California.
I would describe it as black and white, very vibrant black and white, with the colors separate. The bird is about the size of a small raven. I heard it may be a Whiskey Jack, but any pictures I have seen of a Whiskey Jack are more grey in color. Could you be of any assistance. I would love to get a picture of the bird in question.