Australian Native Birds - Australian Magpie facts and myths
98Australian Magpie
The Australian Magpie (cracitus tibicen) is a medium sized black and white bird native to Australia.
It should not be confused with the smaller Magpie-lark (Mudlark/Murray Magpie/Peewee in other States of Australia) (Grallina Cyanoleuca)
Although slightly larger The Australian Magpie is more closely related to the Butcherbird.
Australian Magpies would be regarded as a medium size bird measuring from 37 - 45 cm in length and when in song have the most beautiful of 'warbles' of any bird I have heard.
Magpies being omnivores are never short of food and we often see them fossicking through the cut grass for fresh food.
Magpies spend a lot of daylight hours on the ground and they are also unusual in the fact that they walk and run, one foot after the other, not hopping or waddling like a lot of other birds. These birds are quite territorial and usually stay in a family group.
Mudlark
Australian Magpie - Quick facts
I find the Austrlian Magpie one of the most intriguing birds that I have studied. I have listed below some interesting facts about this bird:
- Magpies are actually from the same family as the Butcher bird (Cracticus torquatus) and not related to the Pied crows from which they got their name.
- They are highly intelligent
- Magpies generally mate for life , although the alpha male generally has more than one female with which to mate and they live as a type of family commune.
- They are very territorial and will fight with other Magpies to keep there neck of the woods. However they will share their space with other species without a problem.
- Unlike other birds they walk fairly upright and do not hop or waddle like most other birds.
- In a sporting sense the most famous (arguably) and hated (without question lol ) football team in Australia is Collingwood and they are called the Magpies due to their black and white colored jumpers.
Magpie coming in for dinner
The Baby Magpie and I
Over the years I have developed an affinity with Magpies and have a certain love of the way they live their lives. Some years ago now a family of Magpie adopted our back garden as their home and over a period of time they learned to trust Oliversmum and myself.
We started out earning their trust by putting out small tid-bits of minced meat for them to eat. To digress just a bit. If you do decide to feed birds never put out so much that they become dependent upon you and lose their natural ability to gather their own food.
This family of Magpies, there was only Mum and Dad at the time, would come down every day and take the food; becoming so tame that they would eat out of our hands and trusted us so much they would even come into our enclosed back porch.
We could see their nest high in a Cyprus Pine tree and as soon as we opened our door the Magpies would glide down and land gracefully on our lawn.
The first Spring came and we realized that the Mum Magpie had laid eggs and was involved in the incubation process. After the hatching we could see that there was two hungry mouths to feed and both Mum and Dad Magpie were busy gathering food for the two nestlings.
magpie mum
Tragedy strikes
After a few weeks the task of getting the nestling to fly was at hand for the parent Magpies!
The first Fledgling to leave the nest was no problem it came down and landed very clumsily and got up and looked for cover and over the next week or two became quite proficient at flying.
The second Nestling however was not so fortunate. It did not leave the nest for quite some time and we did not realize until later that it was carrying an injury.
It was hiding in the bushes and was very hard to see as Mum and Dad Magpie were very protective and would not let anyone near to the two fledglings. They would collect the food from us and then go and shove it down the fledgling throat. (Literally)
When it did come out of hiding we could see that it was limping and one of it's wings was hanging down lower than normal. We were hoping that with the help of Mum and Dad Magpie it would soon come good.
It did not take us long to come to the conclusion that things were not improving and that sooner rather than later something would have to be done for this poor Fledgling.
So we mapped out a plan to try to rescue this poor little bird and take it to the Veterinary Clinic (In our state Veterinary Clinics will treat wild animals free of charge).
We prepared a cardboard carton big enough to accomadate the bird and packed it like a nest. Next we had to wait until Mum and Dad were distracted and then just pick up the bird and put it in the carton. Sounds easy... Right? Wrong, we were not counting on the maternal instincts of the Mum Magpie!
Picking up the baby Magpie was not the problem, it did not struggle at all and fortunately for me, knowing how hard Magpies can attack, I had put on a thick jacket and a reasonable hat.
In the 20 metres or so that I had to walk from picking up the baby the Mum Magpie attacked me all of the way. Grabbing at my head and arms and pecking at my face. Fortunately for me no damage was done.
We then took the baby to the Vets for a complete inspection. The prognosis was not good. The bird had a severely damaged wing and leg (probably caused by falling from the nest ) and the Vet told us that it would never fly or be able to perch on a branch and was surprised that it had survived for so long.
There was no way that this bird could ever live in the wild and the decision was made to humanely euthanize the baby magpie.(Magpies are not allowed to be kept as Pets)
Oliversmum and I were both terribly upset for the Mum and Dad Magpie and they seemed to be fretting themselves. It took about a week before things got back onto an even keel and they resumed taking feed from us. By this time the surviving baby Magpie was also queuing up for its food.
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (4)
- Funny (1)
- Awesome (3)
- Beautiful (10)
- Interesting (4)
CommentsLoading...
I'd really like to see a video of a Magpie running,though I have distant memories of seeing a bird running,a beautiful story agvulpes.;)
@sabu singh. Many thanks for your kind words I'm pleased that you enjoyed reading about the Australian Magpie.
I am happy that you get as much enjoyment out of your contact with your local magpie robins as we do!
I have never seen a yellow billed blue magpie robin I will look them up in my books!
Thank you for your visit and kind comment:-)
@Mentalist acer, thanks so much for your kind comment. My video making skills are nowhere near good enough to capture a Magpie running. Walking, yes but running...No!! lol
Magpies are much too smart to run very often. Most birds if in danger put to flight very quickly.
Thanks again for taking the time to visit and leave a nice comment :-)
Hi Agvulpes, what a great tale, being a city slicker for the majority of my life makes me appreciate the wild birds, animals and insects we come across at our weekender in the Aussie bush. I might write a hub about last weekends events. Cheers i enjoyed this very much.
G'day ah, thanks for taking the time to read about my Magpie experiences. It's a shame I was not able to come up with a happy ending but that is the way it goes: "survival of the fittest"!
Mate, I would love to read some of your weekend adventures in the Aussie Bush.
Thanks again for you kind words!
Good Hub. I know just how territorial magpies can be. During nesting season at Bathurst in NSW you have to watch out for dive bomber attacks from them. Some university students ward them off with umbrellas. I once knew a student who had a pith helmet. The birds would simply bounce off it.
Generally, magpies are good natured and quite likable birds and, when they are not in egg protecting mode, very friendly and sociable.
I will be thinking of this story all day. Thanks!
It's so wonderful to know that your "Veterinary Clinics will treat wild animals free of charge". Very sad about the injured baby though. Too bad you couldn't have gotten a special permit to keep it as a pet because of it's injury.
Hi, as a naturalist specialising on British wildlife I find your on your wildlife fascinating. I always enjoy being taught about species I have no knowledge of. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to see these beautiful birds. Your love for fellow creatures comes shining through a sign of a beautiful person.
I enjoyed the story but was disturbed that the little guy was put to sleep. He was a survivor.
Those magpies look like small crows. Are they related to crows at all? If they're anything like the crows I see at the airport, they are intelligent and whimsical creatures. I love watching them fly, they are truly graceful.
voted up and beautiful! Well written and a beautiful account of love and devotion on your and your wife's part to care for an ailing bird.
blessings...
@Rod Marsden. Rod thanks for the contribution to the Magpie Hub. We do have the same trouble in some parks down here in Melbourne. I have known people who paint large eyes on the back of their bicycle helmets.
Funny thing is I believe that a certain amount of trust can be built up with the Magpie. Apart from my little incident we never had any of the dive bombing at all. You are correct they are a very friendly and sociable bird.
@teresa8go, I hope you are thinking of this story in a good way? Sometimes hard decisions have to be made!
We did consider the consequences of keeping the baby Magpie but after weighing it all up I believe that the decision that was made was fairest for the bird. The only private people allowed to keep wildlife are 'registered' refuges and they can only keep the wild animals until they are well enough to be released back into the 'wild'.
Unfortunately our young Magpie would need to have been kept in a cage for the rest of it's life and we did not consider that to be fair.
Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know that you care :-)
@D.A.L. Dave thanks for coming over and adding to the discussion on our Australian Magpie.
My aim when I write hubs such as this one about Magpies, is not to write the 'definitive' article on a subject rather, as I observe and experience life with these animals. It is very pleasing to know that my love of animals of any description comes across in my writing.
I am certainly looking forward to checking out your new website!
Thanks again for commenting :-)
@Alexander Mark. I understand where you are coming from and believe me the decision was not an easy one to make. Although some pressure was removed by the Vet who would not allow us to remove the bird even if we wanted to! If he had considered it 'savable' it would have been handed over to a 'refuge' for the recovery period.
Your Crow which comes from the Corvidae family does not appear to be related to our Magpie which comes from the Artamidae family (sometimes described as Crow like). Both species of birds are regarded as being highly intelligent.
From my research it almost seems reasonable to assume that the Australian Magpie was named incorrectly.
As a matter of fact whilst walking around the lake yesterday I was watching two black crows flying and playing with each other in the air, it was beautiful to watch.
Thanks for caring enough about the baby Magpie to leave a nice comment:-)
@samsons1, thanks so much for your vote of support, it is much appreciated.
Sometimes you have to make decisions either with your 'heart' or your 'head'.
I find that if there is a conflict the decisions that you don't regret later are made from the 'heart' :-)
Although at the time it was very distressing for us to agree with the Vet's decision we made it from our 'hearts' that it was best for the baby Magpie.
Certainly no regrets, then or since :-)
agvulpes - Thinking about the story in a good way.
I understand about hard decisions like that. I've had to make a few of my own. There's no way to be sure when the injuries had been sustained. You, and or the Vet, figured it was probably from the fall from the nest, but the wing could have been injured in the nest and the leg in the fall. The baby could have had a genetic defect resulting in brittle bones or something like that.
Plus since animals handle pain differently than humans do so there's no way to be certian just how much pain the baby was in or if the pain would ever go away.
I remember seeing a YouTube video of a crow that could not fly. He learned to say "I want to fly." Whether he understands what he is saying is something we'll never know but, just like a person with an injury that will never allow him to walk; a bird that is unable to fly will suffer the mental and emotional pain of watching other birds fly knowing he cannot do something that comes as naturally to birds as walking does to humans.
Are animals capable of such thoughts and feelings? After watching wild and domesticated animals all my life I believe they are.
Great hub. I love watching birds in the wild. Too bad he did not survive
Tina
I loved this one. i am a sucker for anything to do with wildlife/nature and this one was great.
Take care
Eiddwen.
@teresa, sorry about the delay in replying, I took a bit of a break over the Easter period.
You are correct of course that in reality there was no way of knowing what the real problem was with the baby Magpie. The poor thing may well have been in constant pain!!
I personally don't believe that birds know the true meaning of what they are saying, they are just great mimics. Although... they are creatures of Habit and would soon learn that if they 'said' certain things or did certain 'actions' they would be rewarded with a 'treat'
As far as 'thoughts' and 'feelings' in animals. My take is that I think that animals are more 'basic' than we humans! Are these 'thoughts' and 'feelings' true 'emotions' as we humans feel them or more of an inbred 'survival of the species' instinct within their brain?
@Tina, thanks for you kind comment. Yes I agree, but according to 'professional' advise there was just no way that the little Magpie could have led an anywhere 'normal' life!
@Eiddwen. Me too! I love wildlife and nature. In our neck of the woods even in suburbia we have the call of nature just about every day!
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment on my hub about the humble Aussie Magpie :-)
A great nature story ag, I love magpies, they are very clever and brave birds.
When I was a kid, a friend had one that talked. We were living deep in the bush, so he remained free, but followed my friend wherever he went.
Thanks eh, for your nice comment and I agree with you about Magpies being clever and brave, although I have seen them outsmarted by Willy wagtails :-)
Magpies, like Cockatoos are great mimics and pick up the sound of human voices very easily. Magpies are also very territorial and will attach themselves to humans quite readily!
It always makes me laugh that Aussie magpies really are "down under" magpies - check out the British magpies and you'll see the black and white patches are reversed!
You don't mention the beautiful song. Before arriving in Australia I had never heard a bird singing in a minor key. 25 years later that song still gives me a thrill.
Hi Marisa, you are so right about the birds being opposites it is probably because they are not really related! I am certainly no expert on the matter but I believe they are more related to Butcher birds.
I must have understated my love of the Magpie voice for you to not read it, I stated:
"and when in song have the most beautiful of 'warbles' of any bird I have heard."
It certainly still thrills me but unfortunately we do not hear it enough do we ?
Thanks for taking the time to share you experiences with the Aussie Magpie!
Oops, yes I missed that line!
Actually I hear it a lot. In Sydney the magpies are becoming very urbanised and at one of my local shopping centres, a whole group of them hangs around the waste bins. It's a rather run-down shopping centre so it gives me a lift to hear them warbling away amongst all that depressing concrete!
Ah under those circumstances it sure would be great to hear the magpies warble. I do know how depressing concrete can be, I worked in Melbourne Central for years before moving out further into the semi-rural areas.
I'm led to believe that the most tuneful and 'full-on' Magpie warble is when their territory is being challenged by another family of Magpies?
When they are happy the Magpie only sort of 'croons' it's warble!
Fantastic story. As you know from visiting my hubs birds are one of my favorites too.
We have Killdeer and they are fantastic to watch too.
I have had robins fly at me if I got too close to a nest.
Thank you for sharing the pics
Tina
Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and leaving such a kind comment.
We don't have any Killdeer or Plovers as natives here in my State they do look a very active bird with some interesting habits!
However I believe that there are a few migratory Plover visit us every year.
I have never been attacked by a Robin as yet :-)
You remind me to my childhood hobbies..
I loves birds and collecting everything about birds. I never seen such magpie. It's look like whenever there are in Australia, everything is unique.. such a nice collection of info.
For me I get attracted more to tropical birds such as parrot, peacock, toucan, bird of paradise, hornbill and many others as they are more colorful. Birds just they are all fascinating.
Beautiful.
@iburahimu Your great Hobby must have allowed you to have a happy childhood? I think a lot of our unique birds were named after European settlement of Australia.
The Australian Magpie is not closely related to the European Magpie, it belongs more to the Butcherbird family.
I hear you about the colorful birds,they are truly magnificent. Have your ever seen our Lyre bird?
I see we share a love of birds Thank you for sharing some of your childhood with us :-)
I must admit I did like seeing Geelong beat up those Collingwood Magpies this year in the grand final - sorry to digress :)
LOL Oh yeah Billy, I could not agree with you more. The only magpie I don't like is the Collingwood Magpie. They are definitely not my team (so arrogant) and I was so excited to see Geelong (even though they are not my team)run all over them in the final Quarter.
Cheers mate:-)
These are some pretty birds. I love the white/black/grey color patterns they have.
G'day Mikey thanks for dropping by:-)
It is quite weird really, although the Australian Magpie only has a black and white color, each bird has a distinctive pattern and is identifiable from other members of it's family.
The juvenile magpie has the motley grey feathers and as they get older the colors become more distinctive.
We had four magpies that came to be fed and suddenly they've disappeared. A week's gone by and no sign of them. Is this normal?
What a handsome bird, quite different to our magpie here in the UK, what a shame about the baby bird...
Thank you for sharing a lovely story and voted up, best wishes Lesley
@Lucille, hi and it is great to see other people interested in the well being of our birds.
I am not an expert on Magpie behavior but I have had lots of experience with these birds I have found them to be very territorial.
It does seem very strange that a whole family would just disappear 'just like that' and I would hold great concern for their welfare. Someone may have taken exception to being 'zoomed' during the mating season.
Hi Movie Master :) Yes these magpies are a very handsome and if I may add, intelligent bird.
I am lead to believe that our Magpie was mistakenly named after the English magpie. However this was later proved incorrect but the mistake lives in perpetuity...
Lesley, thanks for dropping by and leaving a nice comment:-)
What a story! I love it and what an honor to gain the trust of a magpie. No matter how far I travel nothing makes me feel more at home than hearing a magpie's call
@Zac G'day Mate, thanks for the kind comment and I sure know how you feel. We live in the bush and every morning we can hear the warbling of the Magpies !
Thanks for dropping by :-)
An excellent story! Being from the US, I'd like to know more about your birds.
@viannovice thank you for your kind comments. Australia is indeed blessed to have such lovely birds as the Magpie !
We have a very interesting relationship with a family of maggies that come in for a feed twice a day. They would usually wait for obvious activity like a car coming in the drive or just see us in the back yard and then hang around the back door and sing or squark for a feed. Gordon, now nearly 15, is a female I hand reared after finding it in a paddock 20km away, blown out of a nest. Called it Gordon after Gordon Coventry (Collinwood legend). She has come from barely tolerated to matriarch in this time, as well as being with her third 'husband'. At certain times of the year, like late summer, they may not come in for a feed for several days as the pickings in the paddock are very good. Here in the southwest of WA the males are white backed and the females black with pettycoat like white feathers poking out from behind the black. The juveniles are not possible to sex by their feathers. Mature birds have a whitish beak and juveniles beaks are grey to dark grey. We have heard them mimicking other birds' calls, usually 'sote voce'. Oh and not a Collingwood fan.
We first met our happy family of magpies 6mths ago.Mum and Dad and 3 babys came to visit and I threw them some food and they ate it and stayed till they were happy to go.The mother was still feeding one of the babys and she was a real sqwaker and a real hoot to watch.We luved her antics.I named this funny little girl Knuckle.They still all come but Knuckle comes everyday now.She responds to my voice and still gets up to mischief.im so glad she is free it makes me happy when i see her but when she flys off im pleased for her that she has the choice.
G'day Rick and thanks for your great contribution about 'your' Magpie called Gordon. It never fails to amaze me how birds such as magpies can attach themselves to humans with such trust!
The other day my wife found a female Magpie had invited itself into our living room via an open door and was looking for some food. She waited patiently and left with a small morsel lol
Your descriptions tie in the same as our own magpie family.
I believe that Magpies are one of the best birds at mimicking not just other bird voices but other sound such as car horns,power saws etc?
Nor am I a Collingwood fan (Go Tigers)lol
Thanks again for taking the time to drop by and leave a comment :-)
G'day ann and thanks for also sharing your lovely encounter with the marvelous Magpies.
It looks like you have been 'adopted' lol
Your Knucles sure sound like a character and I'm sure that you have a friend for life. Just a friendly piece of information about 'feeding' wild birds of any description.
Please don't feed them so much that they become dependent upon you for food. and make sure that you feed them the correct type of food.
You seem to have obtained a good balance and I'm sure Knuckles will give you years of enjoyment through it's companionship. I agree with you completely, it is great that they have the choice to come and go as they desire.
Thanks again for sharing your story about the amazing Magpie :-)
sabu singh 13 months ago
Thank you for this very interesting Hub, agvulpes. We have a number of oriental magpie robins around us. They are lovely songsters as you have said and provide us with a veritable feast of birdsong every morning.
I have also seen a number of yellow-billed blue magpie robins in the Himalayan foothills. Very colourful and raucous, those ones. Thanks again. Good read.