Eurasian Magpie

The Eurasian Magpie is easy to observe, for example when it strides across a lawn or garden with a bouncy gait. Its body motions are quite comical. When it wants to go faster, it can hop on both legs at once. It can also be seen probing the ground for prey with its beak as it is essentially a predator. Vegetable gardens do not risk much from it, and in fact it helps keep potential vermin populations in check. On the other hand, its nest robbing of small passerines can be feared, as it has no problem spotting their nests. This may be why it is classified as a pest in France and can be hunted as game. However, the Eurasian Magpie is just playing the role that nature has assigned it. It has natural enemies to limit its population, such as the Accipiters, or hawks and sparrowhawks. In Mediterranean regions, its nests may be parasitized by the cuckoo. As seen before, the Eurasian Magpie feels quite at home in cities. Overall, it frequents areas around human activities. It is both brave and very wary. It may approach dwellings closely but remain very suspicious and always on guard. Any wrong move and it is off in a hurry. In this it resembles other corvids, like the crow, which is known for its high level of intelligence.

Taking to the air, it loses a bit of its fear, which may explain why it may nest high up in a tree in a garden, park, or playground, which are still regularly frequented. It is possible that the urban Magpie is less fearful than the rural Magpie. The Eurasian Magpie is accused of being a thief, of stealing showy objects and hiding them.I think this is probably just a legend, a misinterpretation of certain observations. After all, magpies, like all corvids, hide food so that they have something to eat in times of need. One day someone might have seen a magpie hiding something, leading them to the conclusion that it must have been the object they had just lost. Thus, the legend was born. Géroudet believes that the magpie might be attracted towards unusual objects in its environment, claim it as its own, and hide it like they would with prey, or even bring it back to its nest, as suggested by a comic book from my childhood. That might be possible. Domesticated magpies have a distinct interest for shiny objects, specifically the eyes of their masters, and make attempts to reach them when they are on their shoulders. However, it is illegal to keep these birds as pets in France, so one should be careful, or at least used to be. Outside of the breeding season, Eurasian Magpies become somewhat gregarious. Family groups can persist for a while and aggregate together, forming loose flocks of immature or unemployed birds that roam around, each keeping an eye on the rest whilst they search for food. They gather together to preen and rest, and spend the night in a dormitory, all of this being done out of protection from predators.In these groups one can identify couples by their behavior. At the end of winter, individuals become more agitated and show signs of nervousness, giving rise to discussions, acrobatics in trees and chases accompanied by cries. All of this preludes the pairing of the previous year's young who will not take long to leave the group to search for a new territory. The already established couples meanwhile will return to their territory.