Its very unfortunate that when Europeans first saw this Australian black and white bird, they called it a Magpie because .... well because they were familiar with a black and white bird from home that was called a Magpie and this one was also black and white. I think it is much more noble looking bird than its European namesake.
We have been feeding successive generations of this family of magpies for more than 40 years and I have posted shots of this particular male Magpie on numerous occasions on 365. Unfortunately, this is probably the worst of the postings.
And despite the undeserved bad press they receive during breeding season, we think they are fabulous birds. Mum and dad maggie are quite happy to come inside and wander around the kitchen picking up any crumbs etc from the floor. Our own personal vacuum cleaners.
We had a resident Maggie for a while when our kids were little. It would play in the sand pit with them and follow them inside and then it disappeared. There are still a few in the area but they rarely come into our street :(
