The adult male bird
pictured above has become exceptionally tame and we have
named him Pavarotti (or 'Pav' for short) because of his
special talent for singing--and for having a repertory of
operatic proportions, including wolf whistles and other
phrases he has learned from us. The drawing, like others
on this site, is my own (laborious) work, drawn from a
photograph using DrawPerfect 1.1.
Another very
distinctive personality, Marmy, is an elderly female who
was among the first arrivals. She has half a toe missing
from her right foot and always behaves as though she is
at the bottom of the pecking order. That is probably the
case, because Australian magpies do not usually tolerate
deformities and have a (probably undeserved) reputation
for killing weak members of the family. We have never
observed this to happen, though we have seen serious
attacks made on a lost or orphan fledgling from another
family (who then failed to reappear).
[UPDATE, July 2000 -
Marmy has not been seen for several weeks and it is
likely, alas, that she has been killed or driven away to
die. Her demotion in the pecking order must have related
to her advanced age.]
Magpies are hunters
and gatherers whose diet includes insects, worms and
small reptiles found on or below the ground. Some
individuals are equally fond of seeds such as wheat. They
are nest-robbers and have been seen carrying ducklings
from nearby wetlands.
We have been well able
to observe the territorial behaviour of the family. For
six years, its members were never seen to fly past our
house to the north, where a rival family lived. However,
as their numbers increased past twelve, our birds
asserted ownership over the front garden and adjoining
roadside trees, some of which have low branches ideal for
fledglings learning to fly. Different types of tree are
needed for purposes of resting, keeping lookout and
nocturnal roosting.
Such is the awareness
of territory that actual conflict with intruders is very
rare. Species other than magpies are tolerated within the
territory and, at feeding times, we frequently have
resident pied butcherbirds and kookaburras perching
alongside the magpies. Occasional mild aggro is initiated
by Rufus or other juveniles who have not yet learned the
rules.
All species cooperate
in raising the alarm when a raptor, such as a hawk or
brown falcon is seen in the neighbourhood. We have
learned by experience that wild birds need to be fed (if
at all) in an area which is screened from distant sharp
eyes!
Links to
photos of magpies and other Australian birdlife
