Magpie

Magpies are resident breeders, and with a population of 610000 pairs in 2016 their conservation status is GREEN.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Pica pica
Family: 
Crows
Family Latin name: 
CORVIDAE
Category: 
Birds

Species description

Species description

Commonly described as 'black and white' birds, magpies' 'black' feathers are in fact dark blue.  They have moved into urban gardens in recent years from the countryside but are not to blame for the demise of many of our small birds.  They are simply taking advantage of new and relatively uncontested feeding areas.  They have always been predators of small birds but have not changed their omnivorous habits.  They are resident breeders, and with a population of 610000 pairs in 2016 their conservation status is GREEN.

A magpie flying across you from right to left (widdershins) is unlucky, but from left to right (sunwise) is harmless (not lucky, note!).  To avert an unlucky magpie omen you must take off your hat and bow to it.  A chattering magpie is warning that strangers are about.  Divination rhymes based on the number of magpies seen together are well known and vary around the country.  Magpies are attracted to bright and shiny objects, which are stowed in their substantial nests.  Hence, anyone who hoards is called a magpie, and the same term is used of gossips, because of its chattering cry.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)
They are resident breeders, and with a population of 610000 pairs in 2016 their conservation status is GREEN.
This Magpie was ringed and then released on October 7th 2021.

Details

Species family information

Who could not admire the crows? They are intelligent and adaptable, some being users of tools, and they will exploit any food source, plant or animal, living or dead. They have stout beaks, are long-lived, and are generally monogamous. They may not be the world's most tuneful songsters, but their scavenging activities make them most useful in both urban and rural areas.   

The number of crows seen together has various connotations in folklore depending on which part of the country the superstitions come from. Crows have long been scavengers on battlefields, and this may be the reason why their appearance elsewhere was regarded as ominous, usually portentous of death or ill luck.

Category information

The earliest feathered dinosaur fossils date from the early Cretaceous, but the ancestry of birds goes further back to Jurassic theropod dinosaurs, which shared a common ancestor with the crocodilians. Well known theropod groups include the tyrannosaurs, allosaurs, and other carnivores. Of surviving bird groups, the most ancient are the ratites (ostriches, rheas, tinamous, moas, kiwis, cassowaries, and emus), followed in evolutionary order by the waterfowl (ducks, geese and swans) and then the land fowl (chickens, turkeys, pheasants and their kin). Heene cemetery’s most ancient bird visitors are the woodpigeons. Strictly, therefore, we ought to refer to birds as dinosaurs, for they are direct descendants. The RSPB would be more accurately restyled as the RSPD. Where known, the conservation status of each bird is given as red, amber, or green, according to its survival potential based on 2016 populations and recent population trends.

Birds are warm-blooded, and have feathers, toothless, beaked jaws, and a strong, lightweight skeleton. They lay hard-shelled eggs. Their hearts have four chambers, and their metabolic rate is high. Although most are adapted for flight, many can also run, jump, swim and dive. Flightless birds retain vestigial wings. Brown, green, and grey are the commonest bird colours, for camouflage.