Classification
Order — Passeriformes.
Family — Corvidae.
Genus — Pica.
Species — Pica pica.
Habitat
The range of the magpie extends across temperate Eurasia from Spain and Ireland in the west to the Kamchatka Peninsula and Taiwan in the east. There are also populations in northwest Africa and on Mediterranean islands. The species has been introduced in Japan on the island of Kyushu.
The preferred habit is open countryside with scattered trees and magpies are normally absent from treeless areas and dense forests. They sometimes breed at high densities in suburban settings such as parks and gardens.
Magpies are normally sedentary and spend winters close to their nesting territories but birds living near the northern limit of their range in Sweden, Finland and Russia can move south in harsh weather.
Outward appearance
Length: 17-18 in (44-46 cm) - in the adult over 50% of this is tail.
Wingspan: 20-24 in (52-62 cm).
Weight: 6.3 oz (180 g).
Head, neck and breast are glossy black with a metallic green and violet sheen.
Welly and scapulars (shoulder feathers) are pure white.
Wings are black glossed with green or purple.
Primaries (longest wing feathers) have white inner webs, conspicuous when the wing is open.
The graduated tail is black, shot with bronze-green and other iridescent colours.
Legs and bill are black.
Character
Magpies are noted to be highly intelligent birds and are often able to sense approaching danger relatively quickly. Magpies are known to be dominant and curious
birds but are relatively secretive when they feel they are in danger. Magpies are also known to mimic the calls of other birds and have fully taken advantage of new food sources created by the presence of humans.
Feeding
The Magpie will eat any animal food. These foods include young birds and eggs, insects, scraps and carrion. The bird will also eat acorns, grain and other vegetable substances.
Features
Like other corvids, such as crows, the Magpie usually walks, but it can also hop quickly sideways with wings slightly opened.
The Magpie and the rest of its family are fond of bright objects.
Mirror self-recognition has been demonstrated in European magpies. The magpie is thus one of a small number of species, and the only non-mammal, known to possess this capability.
Breeding
Some magpies breed after their first year while others remain in the non-breeding flocks and first breed in their second year. They are monogamous and the pairs often remain together from one breeding season to the next. They generally occupy the same territory on successive years.
Mating takes place in spring. In the courtship display males rapidly raise and depress their head feathers, uplift, open and close their tails like fans, and call in soft tones quite distinct from their usual chatter. The loose feathers of the flanks are brought over the primaries, and the shoulder patch is spread so the white is conspicuous, presumably to attract females. Short buoyant flights and chases follow.
Magpies prefer tall trees for their bulky nest, firmly attaching them to a central fork in the upper branches. A framework of the sticks is cemented with earth and clay, and a lining of the same is covered with fine roots. Above is a stout though loosely built dome of prickly branches with a single well-concealed entrance. These huge nests are conspicuous when the leaves fall. Where trees are scarce, though even in well-wooded country, nests are at times built in bushes and hedgerows.
In Europe clutches are typically laid in April, and usually contain five or six eggs but clutches with as few as three and as many as ten have been recorded. The eggs are laid in early morning usually at daily intervals.On average the eggs of the nominate species measure 32.9 mm × 23 mm (1.30 in × 0.91 in) and weigh 9.9 g (0.35 oz). Small for the size of the bird, they are typically pale blue-green with close specks and spots of olive brown, but show much variation in ground and marking. The eggs are incubated for 21–22 days by the female who is fed on the nest by the male. The chicks are altricial, hatching nearly naked with closed eyes. They are brooded by the female for the first 5–10 days and fed by both parents. Initially the parents eat the faecal sacs of the nestlings but as the chicks grow larger they defecate on the edge of the nest. The nestlings open their eyes 7 to 8 days after hatching. Their body feathers start to appear after around 8 days and the primary wing feathers after 10 days. For several days before they are ready to leave the nest the chicks clamber around the nearby branches. They fledge at around 27 days. The parents then continue to feed the chicks for several more weeks. They also protect the chicks from predators as their ability to fly is poor making them very vulnerable. On average only 3 or 4 chicks survive to fledge successfully. Some nests are lost to predators but an important factor causing nestling mortality is starvation. Magpie eggs hatch asynchronously and if the parents have difficulty finding sufficient food the last chicks to hatch are unlikely to survive. Only a single brood is reared unless disaster overtakes the first clutch
Diseases
Salmonella, Trichomoniasis, Aspergillosis, Avian pox, Mites and Lice, Lyme Disease.
