the merry and magical magpie

There are magpies in the neighbourhood! 

This little scavenger of the corvid family has populated the imagination of humans since we noticed its beautiful black-and-white pattern and its chattering, cheeky nature.

When seen close up the rich black of the magpie feathers display an iridescent violet-blue sheen. Its Latin name, Pica Pica, is a cute onomatopoeia of its chattering call.

Photo by Bengt Nyman on Wikipedia

Magpies the world over are subjects of poetry and painting. The traditional British nursery rhyme "One for Sorrow" predicts that the number of magpies you see will dictate your future.

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.

Claude Monet's beautiful painting The Magpie shows a bubble of a world that seems to hold its breath, as if the viewer and the bird are waiting for someone, or maybe for spring.

The Magpie, Claude Monet, 1868-1869

Chinese painter Xu Beihong painted many pictures of magpies, his brushstrokes quick and graceful as his subjects.

Magpies on a Tree Branch, Xu Beihong, 1946
from wikiart.org

Many people believe that the magpie steals and hoards shiny objects. We've even hinged plot twists on this myth, such as Rossini's The Thieving Magpie, the Tintin comic The Castafiore Emerald, and several mystery stories.

Panel from The Castafiore Emerald by Hergé, from TVTropes

New studies have found that some magpies are actually unsettled and nervous around shiny and sparkling things. Like other birds, magpies collect pretty and colourful objects to decorate their nests in mating season, but it turns out they don't deserve their kleptomaniac reputation.

It's never too late to learn something new about your local birds!