Magpie (Pica pica)
‘One for sorrow, two for joy…’, Magpies are so familiar they have entered folklore. They are handsome crows with a very long wedge-shaped tail, and bold black and white plumage. In sunlight this appears as an iridescent sheen of blue, purple and green.
Habitat
Magpies live on farmland and in towns, wherever there are suitable trees for nesting.
Behaviour
Magpies may be seen on their own, but they frequently travel in pairs or large groups. They have a reputation for wiping out songbirds by eating their eggs, but research shows their fondness for eating eggs doesn’t affect songbird population sizes.
Feeding
Magpies eat almost anything, from fruit and berries to dead animals. They will sometimes prey on small mammals and birds, and eat eggs from birds’ nests.
Voice
Their call is a hard, rattling cha-cha-cha-cha-cha.