Species: Magpie (Pica pica)
Family: Crows (CORVIDAE)
Category: Birds
Location: NW
A. Birds
More extensive information on birds can be found in a separate blog post.
B. Crows (CORVIDAE)
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.
C. Magpie (Pica pica)
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.
Images
Magpie
A shy magpie captured by one of the trail cameras in Heene Cemetery.
Magpie
They are resident breeders, and with a population of 610000 pairs in 2016 their conservation status is GREEN.
Magpie
This Magpie was ringed and then released on October 7th 2021.
