What is a magpie? 21 Interesting Facts
How to identify
magpie bird on tree
The Magpie is hard to miss in the UK. It makes a loud chattering sound. Its striking black-and-white feathers and long tail are on display. Up close, its black feathers show a purplish-blue shine on the wings and a green gloss on the tail. Magpies seem to be jacks of all trades – scavengers, predators, and pest destroyers. Non-breeding birds will gather together in flocks.
Key facts
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Beak: Black
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Conservation Status: Green
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Diet: Omnivore and scavenger
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Feather Colors: Green, Blue, Black, White
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Legs: Black
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Length: 44-46 cm
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Habitats: Woodland, Upland, Urban and Suburban, Farmland, Heathland, Wetland, Grassland
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UK Breeding Birds: 600,000 territories
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Weight: 200-250 g
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Wingspan: 52-60 cm
21 Interesting Facts of Magpie Birds
magpie 21 Interesting Facts The numbers of magpies in Britain and Ireland have quadrupled in 35 years. The increase has been especially pronounced in the suburbs. It is mainly vegetarian in winter and largely a ground-forager forinvertebrates during summer. Each spring, the great horned owl raises its young. During this time, it also becomes a key predator. It often visits songbird nests to take their eggs and nestlings. There's two schools of thought on the effect magpies have on nesting birds. Most studies show that their impact is small. However, when magpies are removed, songbird breeding success goes up. Partly responsible for the magpie’s enormous increase in population is believed to stem from the volume of carrion lying around as a result of road kills – food on offer year-round. Magpies can legally be caught in Larsen traps, live-capture cage trap trained by a decoy bird to encourage other birds of the same species. Many thousands a year are trapped and killed this way. A male magpie will likely court and mate with a female decoy if he's alone. However, if his mate is present, he becomes aggressive. There has always been superstition around magpies, and the poem that starts: One for sorrow, two for joy... has many forms. One old rural tradition had it that a hat should be raised to a magpie; but far less have hats these days, and the custom has nearly died. A magpie looks twice as big as it actually is because the tail accounts for half its length. Its average weight is around half that of a wood pigeon’s. They are found in most of mainland Europe, except Spain and Greece. In those countries, they are only in the south. They also appear in much of central Turkey and northern Scandinavia. However, they are missing from many inhabited islands like Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica, and Iceland. Pairs typically stay within a boundary of their own but the non breeding birds wander further in small packs or gangs. They are not the migratory type and it is unusual for one to travel greater than 10km from where it was hatched. Most nests are constructed in trees, but in the absence of building sites they will nest on the ground. A normal nest has a lid and usually two entrances, though some populations construct open nests. Magpie nests, they are up to the bottom of your sits so that could be a.... one for the long-eared boys moving in. Its day of first egg laid in the year is about coincident throughout Europe, being centred in mid-April to late April. GSCs lay their eggs in magpie nests in southern Spain. In Britain there are not many natural enemies of the magpie other than man, however in some parts of Europe they are hunted by goshawks. Party roosts in winter can be up to 200 birds. The sleeping birds are usually gone by sunrise. Read the full article
