Mind your maggies!

(I wrote this last year for a local family publication. This is a shorter version. It applies to Qld magpies. Magpies vary a little in other parts of Australia)

You know us magpies: a bit larrikin, a bit fierce family protector, but don’t call us bird-brained, unless you mean it as a compliment, because we’re pretty smart. The scientists say so and we’re going to skite about it!

We like to live in grassy, lightly treed areas in small groups of up to five individuals. We take up territories that include nesting and roosting trees and grassed feeding areas. Territory is essential to our survival. Without it, we won’t breed and we’ll face the constant risk of attack if we trespass on to the territories of other magpies (you don’t like strangers walking through your yard to get to where they’re going either, do you?).

Because of the importance of territory to us, we should NOT be moved elsewhere. Those that are captured and relocated will be killed or badly injured by magpies already living in the new area. To make matters worse, eggs and chicks will fail to survive without their parents. Relocation won’t solve your ‘problem’. A new magpie will take the place of the one you relocated and the swooping will start all over again. If the dominant male is removed from the territory then the whole flock may become vulnerable and threatened with displacement. Magpies from neighbouring territories may invade the area and remaining magpies may be attacked and injured or killed.

We mate for life and only search for a new partner when one dies. We protect our babies boldly. You might think of us as the original helicopter parents. Some of us (not all) don’t like people getting near our nests when we have eggs or chicks so we might do our trademark swoop on some of you, especially those moving fast, like cyclists. We only swoop for a limited time during spring and in a limited area around our nests.

In general, just be sensible. Avoid areas that are being defended. Wear a broad-brimmed hat and/or use an umbrella BUT don’t fight back if a magpie swoops. Throwing sticks and stones or yelling at us may make us more aggressive next time someone enters our defence zone especially the person who has shown aggression. We remember faces!

Never approach one of our young. Fledglings that have just left the nest or have fallen out are likely to be under the watchful eye of a parent. If you pick them up or get too close the parent bird may think you are a predator and become defensive. If you believe a baby bird is at risk, wait until after dark, if you can, before you pick them up and place them back in a tree.

So we’re great defenders, but what else are we good at? A LOT! We make excellent garden assistants through our amazing ability to listen for the sounds of moving prey just below the surface of the soil. Once located, with our long, sharp beak we pinch it out and...lunch! Remember the scientists? Experiments have shown that we can find buried lawn grubs 96 times out of 100, making us one of the best backyard lawn grub eradicators.

We have great vocal abilities. We have a vocal range of up to 4 octaves, more than many of your pop singers. We can improvise and invent new melodic material. We can mimic at least 35 species of other animals more accurately than lyrebirds, but yes, ok, they’re more glamorous than us. According to the boffins again, we have around 900 syllables that we use to communicate with each other including a little warble to invite others to join when we’ve found some tasty food.

We’re even talented at sunbathing! On our stomachs, with our wings spread out, we’ll tilt our heads to the side, fluff our wings and go into a kind of ‘magpie meditation’. We’re not doing nothing. We are removing parasites, regulating our body temperature, maintaining our feathers as well as relaxing. The warmth from the sun activates mites and lice, making them easier for us to pick out when we groom ourselves. This warmth also helps to spread a special oil from a gland at the base of our tails throughout our feathers, regulating our temperature in cold weather and ensuring that our feathers remain soft, flexible and water resistant.

To keep even more clean we have our own magpie insect repellent: Antogard! We pick up ants with our beaks and rub them onto our plumage. The formic acid in ants helps control mites and lice.

Although some people call a group of us a michief of magpies we make pretty enjoyable neighbours. So please mind your manners (mind your maggies to us) and treat us nicely, like you would your human neighbours. You wouldn’t have them over and give them food which would make them sick. Well don’t feed us food which will hurt us either.

DON’T feed us bread or plain mince. You may not just hurt us but our nestlings too as we will feed them what you give to us! These human foods don’t have the right nutrients for us resulting in soft beaks, bone abnormalities, deformities, seizures and poor feather growth. And don’t give us chocolate, alcohol or caffeine in any form. These are poison to us.

DO feed us worms and grubs from your garden and if you haven’t got the time feed us mealworms you can buy from a pet shop but please, don’t make us dependent on you.

We could keep yarning, but it’s time to forage. If you want to know more look us up online. We’re pretty popular (told you we’d skite).