Black-billed Magpies, also known as American Magpies, add much to western landscapes with their flashy appearance and flamboyant personalities. Historical records of the American West indicate that Black-billed Magpies had been associated with people for a long time. To feed on leftovers from bison kills, they followed the Plains Indians. The explorers, Lewis and Clark, reported magpies boldly entering their tents to steal food. For years, farmers and ranchers tried in vain to exterminate this species. However, today Magpies are commonly seen in open country and even in towns. American Magpies are familiar and entertaining birds. They love to sit on fenceposts flashing their white wing patches and twitching their long tails. This large, showy relative of jays and crows is a social creature. Keeping up a regular stream of raucous mockery, they typically congregate in numbers to feed at carrion. The striking personality of the Magpie inspired American cartoonist, Paul Terry, to create the famous cartoon characters, Heckle and Jeckle (1946). For fifteen years, Heckle and Jeckle became a popular TV show. Heckle and Jeckle were two inseparable black magpies, with distinguishably different personalities. Perhaps the first odd couple, Heckle had a New York accent, while Jeckle’s speech was refined and impeccably distinct. Known for their witty wordplay, Heckle and Jeckle employed wry commentary to outwit their foes. Instead of resorting to violence, the birds bested their foes by outsmarting them. “American Magpies” is a digital composite and painting.