Eurasian Magpie Pica pica

(aka Common Magpie, Black-billed Magpie)
Magpie, Edinburgh, Scotland, June 2002 - click for larger image

The Magpie is distributed throughout most of Europe, a good part of Asia and in western North America.

It has been spreading northwards in Scotland, where photos 1 to 4 were taken, over the past few decades and in many areas what was once a rarity is now regarded by many as a bit of a pest. It is largely absent from the Highlands of Scotland.
Magpie, Edinburgh, Scotland, June 2002 - click for larger image It is found in open or lightly wooded habitat and, in common with some other members of the crow family, has adapted to life in built-up areas.

It is an opportunistic feeder and, besides beetles, fruit and seeds, it preys on small birds and eats domestic rubbish and carrion.
Magpie, Edinburgh, Scotland, June 2002 - click for larger image The nest, as can be seen in these photos, is a large, loose globe of twigs with inside a bowl of mud lined with assorted soft materials. This particular nest had two entrances. There were only two juveniles visible outside the nest when these photos were taken but there may have been others inside the nest. The normal clutch is 5 to 7 eggs.
Magpie, Edinburgh, Scotland, June 2002 - click for larger image The 4th photo shows an adult removing a fecal sac from the nest.
Magpie, Thrumsing La, Mongar, Bhutan, April 2008 - click for larger image The 5th photo was taken in Bhutan.

There are recordings on xeno-canto and additional information is available via Avibase. There is an excellent page on Wikipedia.
Previous Page Back to Index Next Page
If you do not see a menu on the left, you may have arrived at this page from another site. Please click Home to get to my main page.